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LIFE  OF  THE  GERMAN  SCULPTOR  RAUCH 

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LEE    AND    SHEPARD    PUBLISHERS    BOSTON 


OF 

CHRISTIAN  DANIEL  RAUCH 


OF 


BERLIN    GERMANY 

SCULPTOR   OF  THE   MONUMENT  OF  QUEEN    LOUISE,  VICTORIES 

OF  WALHALLA,   ALBERT  DURER,   FREDERIC 

THE  GREAT   etc. 


DRA  WN  FROM  GERMAN  A  UTHORITIES 
BY 

EDNAH  D.  CHENEY 

AUTHOR  OF  "  GLEANINGS  IN  FIELDS  OF  ART  "  EDITOR  OF  "  MICHEL  ANGELO's  POEMS  "  CtC. 


BOSTON 
LEE   AND    SHEPARD   PUBLISHERS 

I O      MILK      STREET 
1893 


COPYRIGHT,  1892, 
BY  EDNAH  D.  CHENEY 


All  Rights  Reserved 


LIFE  OF  CHRISTIAN  DANIEL  RAUCH 


C.  J.  PETERS  fc  SON 

TYPE-SETTEES  AND  ELECTBOTYPEBS 

145  Hiou  STREET  BOSTON 


TO 

ANNE     WHITNEY 
SCULPTOR 

To  you,  true  daughter  of  Art,  my  thoughts  have  often 
turned  while  I  tried  to  bring  out  the  noble  life  of  this  great 
man,  who  believed  in  Art  as  the  expression  of  the  highest  in 

4 

Humanity. 

You  share  his  Faith  and  his  Devotion,  and  to  you,  as  to  him, 
Art  has  been  an  elevating  vocation  which  has  made  you 
every  year  higher,  wiser,  and  sweeter. 

May  I  dedicate  my  earnest  though  imperfect  work  to  you, 
with  the  deep  respect  and  affection  for  yourself  and  ad- 
miration for  your  work  which  a  friendship  of  many  years, 
cemented  by  holy  memories  of  the  one  who  brought  us 
together,  has  established  in  my  heart. 

EDNAH    D.    CHENEY 

JAMAICA  PLAIN  ,  June  27,  i8q2. 


PREFACE 


IN  the  autumn  of  1877  I  visited  Berlin,  and  for  the  first 
time  saw  the  statue  of  Queen  Louise,  by  Rauch.  It  was 
a  revelation  to  me  in  modern  art,  and  I  felt  the  joy  of  the 
discovery  of  a  new  star  in  the  heavenly  galaxy.  So  simple 
without  weakness,  so  pure  and  sweet  without  affectation, 
so  noble  and  so  modest,  I  accepted  her  as  the  queen  of 
modern  womanhood  and  the  ideal  of  artistic  representa- 
tion. When  I  turned  to  the  statue  of  the  king,  and  found 
that  this  artist  did  not  depend  upon  the  exquisite  senti- 
ment of  his  first  subject  for  his  results,  but  out  of  far  less 
promising  material  had  gained  an  even  greater  artistic 
success,  I  felt  that  here  was  indeed  a  power,  and,  still  more, 
a  trained  and  educated  power,  that  must  help  forward  the 
progress  of  art. 

When  I  spoke  of  him  to  an  American  sculptor  of  fine 
intellectual  culture,  as  well  as  artistic  feeling,  and  found 
that  he  did  not  know  him  even  by  name,  I  felt  a  great 
desire  to  introduce  Rauch  and  his  works  to  the  better 
knowledge  of  my  countrymen,  who  are  in  that  formative 
stage  of  art  when  such  an  influence  is  most  precious. 

Since  that  time  the  great  political  movements  in  Ger- 
many have  kept  her  people  and  country  so  much  in  our 
thoughts,  and  the  stream  of  travel  in  the  direction  of  Ber- 
lin has  so  much  increased,  that  I  have  no  doubt  that  this 
artist  is  far  more  widely  known  than  he  was  then  ;  but  I 
am  equally  sure  that  those  who  know  a  little  will  desire  to 
know  more,  and  I  have  therefore  hoped  to  do  a  service  in 

v 


Vi  PREFACE 

introducing  him  to  an  American  public,  so  many  of  whom 
have  had,  or  will  have,  an  opportunity  of  seeing  his  original 
works. 

During  my  brief  visit  I  spent  what  time  I  could  at  the 
Rauch  Museum,  and  in  seeing  the  monumental  statues, 
and  tried  to  obtain  some  account  of  his  life.  A  very  in- 
teresting address  made  at  the  commemoration  of  the  cen- 
tenary of  his  birth  was  all  that  I  could  then  find. 

It  was  with  great  delight  that  I  learned  after  my  return 
home  of  the  publication  of  the  first  volume  of  Dr.  Eggers's 
"  Life  of  Rauch,"  which  I  at  once  ordered.  This  work 
was  projected  by  the  brothers  Eggers,  both  of  them  artists 
of  high  reputation,  and  friends  of  Rauch  in  his  later  years. 
By  the  death  of  Friedrich  Eggers  the  whole  work  was 
left  in  the  hands  of  his  brother  Karl.  The  publication  of 
the  later  volumes  was  delayed  by  the  acquisition  of  a  large 
quantity  of  new  material,  consisting  of  letters  to  Goethe 
and  others,  and  necessitating  an  entire  revision  and  re- 
arrangement of  the  manuscript  already  prepared.  The 
succeeding  volumes  followed  slowly ;  the  second  was  pub- 
lished in  1878,  the  third  in  1886,  the  fourth  in  1887,  and 
finally  the  fifth,  which  is  hardly  a  part  of  the  narrative, 
but  rather  an  illustrative  appendix,  appeared  only  in  1891. 

During  all  these  years,  as  far  as  other  claims  would 
allow,  it  has  been  my  pleasant  occupation  to  study  this 
life,  and  to  make  real  to  myself  the  character  of  this  man  ; 
and  as  the  image  of  him  grew  clearer  in  my  own  mind,  so 
did  the  purpose  to  try  to  present  him  to  my  fellow-country- 
men in  his  "very  habit  as  he  lived." 

I  am  almost  entirely  indebted  to  this  biography  for  the 
material  of  mine ;  indeed,  it  would  have  been  folly  in  this 
distant  land  to  have  attempted  to  go  behind  a  work  so 
carefully  executed  with  every  advantage,  and  seek  to  make 
an  original  book.  A  full  translation  would  have  been  too 
large  a  work  for  a  publisher  to  venture  upon,  and  I  have 


PREFACE 


therefore  done  as  I  felt  that  I  could,  gathering  up  the  facts 
into  my  own  mind,  and  striving  to  reproduce  them  in  a 
popular  form.  When  I  again  visited  Berlin,  in  1891,  it 
was  with  this  purpose  in  view  and  partly  executed  ;  and  I 
received  from  Dr.  Eggers  permission  to  make  such  use  of 
his  work  as  I  had  proposed. 

I  wish  here  to  make  to  him  the  fullest  and  most  grateful 
acknowledgment  not  only  for  this  permission,  but  for  the 
excellence  and  fulness  of  his  biography,  which  has  left  so 
little  to  be  desired.  I  availed  myself,  however,  of  every 
opportunity  within  my  reach  to  obtain  independent  im- 
pressions of  Rauch's  personality  and  work,  and  was  fortu- 
nate enough  to  meet  one  person  who  had  known  him  in 
youth,  and  another  who  had  a  hereditary  knowledge  of 
him,  besides  gathering  the  general  impression  of  feeling 
in  regard  to  him,  and  again  seeing  his  works. 

I  have  found  great  difficulty  in  following  any  strict 
chronological  sequence  in  presenting  the  facts  of  Rauch's 
life.  As  one  of  his  great  works  often  occupied  him  for 
many  years,  and  others  were  in  different  stages  of  progress 
at  the  same  time,  it  seemed  better  to  take  up  each  as  a 
separate  theme,  and  describe  the  whole  course  of  its  pro- 
duction, from  its  beginning  to  its  close.  I  have,  however, 
endeavored  to  give  so  many  dates  as  to  keep  the  epoch  of 
any  event  easily  before  the  mind,  and  show  the  onward 
march  of  time. 

I  have  made  one  addition  to  the  life  drawn  from  other 
sources  ;  viz.,  the  chapter  on  Queen  Louise.  It  is  through 
her  statue  that  Rauch  is  more  generally  appreciated  by 
travelling  Americans  than  by  anything  else,  and  yet  this 
woman  is  not  so  well  known  as  she  should  be,  and  as  she 
is  destined  to  be  in  coming  years  ;  for  Germany  to-day 
reveres  and  loves  the  mother  of  her  emperor,  and,  as  he 
said,  "  the  founder  of  German  Unity,"  far  more  than  even 
in  her  lifetime.  I  have,  therefore,  given  a  sketch  of  her 


Vlii  PREFACE 

life,  which  of  course  Dr.  Eggers  did  not  think  it  necessary 
to  do  for  a  German  public. 

While  I  have  thus  freely  used  his  facts,  statements,  and 
opinions,  often  being  obliged  to  condense  them  very  much 
in  order  to  bring  five  large  volumes  into  the  compass  of 
one  small  one,  and  also  to  translate  very  freely,  I  have  put 
into  quotation  marks  the  direct  extracts  from  Rauch  and 
others,  and  also  any  sentences  of  Dr.  Eggers  which  I 
could  translate  pretty  literally,  or  which  seemed  especially 
good  in  expression,  or  for  which  I  preferred  to  have  his 
direct  authority.  If  I  am  accused  of  plagiarism,  I  can  only 
admit  the  charge  by  the  wholesale.  It  would  be  entirely 
impossible  for  me  to  say  what  part  of  the  book  is  my  own 
thought,  or  what  was  suggested  by  another.  I  have  so 
made  it  my  own  by  long  possession,  that  I  feel  like  the 
mother  of  an  adopted  child  who  thinks  his  virtues  are  in- 
herited from  her.  I  have  given  no  statement  which  I  did 
not  believe,  and  have  uttered  no  opinion  which  I  am  not 
willing  to  maintain  ;  and  if  the  book  only  interests  the 
reader  in  my  subject,  he  is  perfectly  free  to  give  the  merit 
of  it  where  he  thinks  it  is  due. 

If  I  shall  induce  any  one  to  study  the  original  volumes 
of  Dr.  Eggers,  and,  above  all,  the  sculpture  of  Rauch,  I 
shall  have  done  him  a  service  which  I  am  sure  will  atone 
for  all  my  deficiencies. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  pAGB 

I.     BIRTH  AND  CHILDHOOD.  —  LIFE  AT  COURT.  —  1777-1804     .  i 

II.     ROME.  —  RETURN  TO  BERLIN. —  1804-1810 n 

III.  QUEEN  LOUISE  OF  PRUSSIA.  —  BORN  MARCH   11,1776.     DIED 

JULY  19,  1810 28 

IV.  STATUES  OF  QUEEN  LOUISE. —  1810-1827 62 

V.     BERLIN  AND  LAGERHAUS.  — 1815-1816 77 

VI.     GERMAN  ART. — SCHOOLS  AND  MUSEUMS.  — 1819-1822   .     .  94 

VII.     RAUCH  AND  GOETHE. —  1797-1832 122 

VIII.     HISTORIC  MONUMENTS.  —  POLISH  PRINCES.  — ALBERT  DURER. 

—  1815-1840 137 

IX.     KING  LUDWIG  OF  BAVARIA.  — 1812-1852 163 

X.     HOME  AND  FRIENDS.  —  SCHOOL  AND  ATELIER.  —  1830-1840,  188 
XI.     PORTRAIT  AND  MISCELLANEOUS  SCULPTURE.  —  1821-1844     .  210 
XII.     CONDITION  OF  ART  IN  GERMANY.  —  WALHALLA  AND  VICTO- 
RIES.—  1830-1857 233 

XIII.     MONUMENT  TO  FREDERIC  THE  GREAT.  — 1780-1850    ...  251 
XIV.     POLITICAL  CHANGES.  —  VISITS  TO  ST.  PETERSBURG,  COPEN- 
HAGEN, ANTWERP,  AND  LONDON.  —  1840-1852    ....  266 
XV.     LAST  JOURNEYS  AND  LAST  WORKS. —  1853-1857    ....  288 

XVI.     THE  CLOSE  OF  LIFE.  — 1857 299 

XVII.     RAUCH'S  SCHOOL  AND  INFLUENCE  ON  MODERN  ART     .     .     .  309 

LIST  OF  WORKS 321 

INDEX 327 


IX 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 


CHRISTIAN'  RAUCH Frontispiece 

KING  WILLIAM  AND  QUEEN  LOUISE,  CHARLOTTENBURG 69 

ALBERT  DURER,  NUREMBERG 160 

VICTORY,  VALHALLA 244 

FREDERICK  THE  GREAT,  BERLIN 258 


LIFE  OF  CHRISTIAN  DANIEL  RAUCH 


CHAPTER   I 

BIRTH    AND    CHILDHOOD.  LIFE    AT    COURT 

1777-1804 

THE  little  city  of  Arolsen,  not  far  from  Cassel,  was  in 
the  eighteenth  century  ruled  over  by  Prince  Friedrich,  a 
man  of  high  culture  and  strong  character,  who  loved 
science,  and  cared  much  for  the  improvement  of  his  peo- 
ple. His  "  Kammerdiener  "  was  named  Johann  Friedrich 
Rauch.  From  the  papers  of  this  person,  we  learn  that 
his  prince  sent  one  hundred  and  thirty  soldiers  to  aid 
George  III.  in  prosecuting  our  Revolutionary  War.  His 
Kammerdiener  apologizes  for  this  transaction  of  his  prince, 
and  says  that  he  was  very  careful  that  the  agriculture  of 
the  country  should  not  suffer  from  it. 

In  this  letter  we  also  find  the  first  mention  of  our  hero, 
January  18,  1778. 

The  family  then  consisted  of  three  sons.  The  oldest 
was  fifteen  and  the  second  son  twelve  years  old.  Next 
to  them  there  had  been  two  daughters,  who  were  now 
both  dead.  The  youngest  child,  then  a  year  and  six  days 
old,  was 

CHRISTIAN  DANIEL  RAUCH,  born  January  2,  1777. 

This  date  at  once  indicates  at  what  an  important  epoch 
in  the  history  of  both  Europe  and  America  he  lived,  and 
how  a  biography  of  him  must  represent,  from  an  indi- 


2  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

vidual  standpoint,  many  of  the  most  striking  political  and 
intellectual  influences  that  have  made  the  present  condi- 
tion of  the  Christian  world. 

The  father,  who  had  been  a  soldier,  and  had  become  a 
court-servant,  was  noted  for  his  strict  order  and  integrity, 
and  also  for  the  punctuality  and  fidelity  with  which  he 
fulfilled  the  duties  of  his  little  office.  These  traits  re- 
appeared in  his  son.  His  mother  was  the  daughter 
of  a  mason,  and  this  fact  also  may  have  influenced  his 
tendencies. 

The  children  were  brought  up  in  the  strictest  simplicity. 
Until  his  twentieth  year,  Christian  did  not  know  the 
luxury  of  an  overcoat  in  that  severe  climate.  At  home 
he  wore  a  "  Gatten-jacket."  As  this  garment  was  espe- 
cially convenient  for  sausage-making,  it  was  called  the 
"sausage-jacket."  He  grew  rapidly,  was  vigorous,  and 
had  a  fine  appetite.  If  he  was  sent  to  the  apple  store- 
room, he  filled  his  pockets  and  sack  with  apples  for  his 
own  eating.  His  mother  was  aware  of  the  trick,  but  said 
nothing,  "they  tasted  so  good  to  him." 

According  to  his  own  statement,  he  was  not  the  finest 
of  the  children.  "His  eldest  brother,"  he  says,  "was  the 
handsomest  and  the  best."  He  died  when  Christian  was 
only  a  few  years  old.  His  death-bed  was  surrounded 
with  African  marigolds,  and  Rauch  could  never  bear  the 
sight  or  odor  of  these  flowers,  so  forcibly  did  they  recall 
this  early  sorrow.  A  younger  brother,  "beautiful  as  a 
picture,"  as  Rauch  was  wont  to  say,  died  in  Poland  ; 
and  only  one,  Friedrich,  who  became  court-gardener  in 
the  princely  garden  of  Herrenhausen,  survived  to  full 
maturity. 

Rauch's  education  up  to  the  age  of  fourteen  was  very 
narrow.  The  Old  and  New  Testaments,  the  Catechism  of 
Martin  Luther,  and  the  "Book  of  Saints  "  were  his  only 
books  of  study.  An  old  atlas,  used  by  the  choir  leader 
to  raise  his  seat,  gave  him  his  first  ideas  of  geography. 


BIRTH    AND    CHILDHOOD. LIFE    AT    COURT  3 

He  learned  French  from  two  old  mechanics  in  whose 
workshop  he  delighted  to  play,  and  a  French  emigrant 
whom  his  parents  invited  to  their  house  for  his  advantage. 
In  his  ninth  year  he  was  obliged  to  attend  regularly  to  his 
French  lessons,  and  he  found  this  early  knowledge  of 
French  very  useful  to  him.  He  attended  church  service, 
with  singing  and  preaching,  and  also  Sunday-school  on 
Sundays  and  on  Tuesdays  and  Fridays. 

He  was  so  bright  and  studious  as  to  attract  the  atten- 
tion of  the  prince,  who  looked  over  his  exercises,  and 
once  gave  him  a  pair  of  new  silver  shoe-buckles  as  a 
reward  for  a  clever  composition.  His  brother  Friedrich 
aided  and  encouraged  him,  and  brought  him  books  to 
study. 

"The  teacher  says  so,"  was  a  frequent  formula  of  the 
conscientious  child.  One  rainy  day,  when  walking  with 
his  father,  he  took  pains  to  walk  exactly  in  his  father's 
footprints,  and  as  with  his  short  legs  he  was  obliged  to 
spring  from  one  to  another,  he  spattered  mud  over  his 
father's  stockings.  His  father  said,  "What  nonsense  is 
this,  youngster  ?  "  —  "  Father,  the  teacher  says,  '  Children 
must  walk  in  the  footsteps  of  their  elders.' "  '  This  was 
not  a  joke,  but  a  literal  fulfilment  of  a  duty,  as  was 
always  so  characteristic  of  the  man. 

Another  anecdote  illustrates  his  simple  belief.  An  old 
linen  weaver  came  every  spring  and  set  up  his  loom,  and 
stayed  with  them.  He  slept  in  the  same  room  with 
Christian,  who  found  him  an  agreeable  companion,  one 
who  answered  all  his  questions. 

As  the  Passion  of  Jesus  was  read  in  school  at  this 
time,  the  boy  became  so  absorbed  in  it,  that  he  imagined 
that  the  scenes  of  the  Crucifixion  were  actually  taking 
place  in  Jerusalem.  He  believed  in  the  resurrection,  and, 
thinking  that  it  must  spread  a  glory  over  the  whole  earth, 
he  waited  anxiously  for  Easter  morning.  "  It  is  going 
on  now,"  he  called  out  suddenly,  raising  himself  up  in 


4  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

bed.  "What  is  going  on  ?  "  said  the  old  weaver,  waking 
up.  "The  Resurrection  of  the  Lord!"  —"Oh!  young- 
ster," cried  the  weaver,  "  that  was  over  long  ago.  Go  to 
sleep!" 

His  father's  position  enabled  him  often  to  visit  the 
princely  apartments.  There  hung  pictures  and  prints 
which  fascinated  him,  especially  "  The  Death  of  General 
Wolfe,"  one  of  the  best  pictures  of  Benjamin  West, 
finely  engraved  by  Woollett  in  1776.  A  bust  of  the 
Apollo,  four  feet  in  height,  and  busts  of  Frederic  the 
Great  and  of  Goethe  also  interested  him.  He  had 
access  to  the  workshop  of  the  sculptor  Valentin,  and 
having  made  acquaintance  with  his  apprentices  he  saw 
their  work,  and  noticed  especially  a  marble  chimney-piece 
for  one  of  the  castles.  Valentin  had  much  to  tell  of 
Lorrdon  and  the  glories  of  Westminster  Abbey,  which 
the  boy  never  forgot. 

According  to  German  custom,  when  the  boy  was  of 
suitable  age  —  thirteen  years  old  —  he  was  confirmed  in 
the  church,  and  was  then  to  choose  his  life-work.  Chris- 
tian himself  had  no  doubt  what  it  should  be,  but  it  re- 
quired some  entreaty  on  his  part  before  it  was  agreed  that 
he  should  be  apprenticed  to  the  court  sculptor  in  Helsen. 
This  took  place  October  1 7,  1 790.  The  contract  was  for 
five  years.  As  he  boarded  with  his  parents,  he  had  to 
walk  five  miles  daily  to  his  work-place.  The  work  con- 
sisted mostly  of  funeral  urns,  chimney-pieces,  sandstones 
for  graves,  and  ornaments  of  wood  for  picture-frames. 

Christian  fulfilled  his  five  years'  apprenticeship,  wander- 
ing between  Arolsen  and  Helsen,  working  earnestly,  and 
looking  dreamingly  forward  into  the  future.  His  first 
glimpse  into  the  outer  world  was  gained  by  a  trip  on  foot 
to  Cassel  with  his  comrade  Wolff.  Here  he  first  saw  an 
antique  marble  statue,  but  he  was  much  more  moved  on 
visiting  the  atelier  of  Ruhl,  where  he  saw  active,  progres- 
sive work.  Ruhl  had  just  returned  from  Rome,  and 


BIRTH    AND    CHILDHOOD.  —  LIFE    AT    COURT  C 

brought  with  him  fragments  of  ancient  art,  and  designs 
for  new  work.  He  told  much  of  living  artists,  especially 
of  Canova,  and  the  boy  saw  the  process  of  modelling  a 
lion  in  clay. 

In  every  little  court  of  Germany  at  that  time  was  to  be 
found  a  prince  who  imitated  Louis  XIV.,  and  tried  to  sur- 
round himself  with  French  influences  and  ornament. 
Such  a  man  was  Count  Friedrich  II.  von  Hesse.  He  was 
the  founder  of  an  academy  which  did  service  to  art. 
When  Rauch's  apprenticeship  was  ended,  he  came  to 
Cassel  to  be  under  the  especial  instruction  of  Ruhl,  who 
was  the  life  of  the  academy.  He  arrived  there  in  Sep- 
tember, 1795,  with  three  French  "  laub-thalers  " 1  and  a 
lucky  penny  in  his  pocket.  For  his  work  as  helper  in 
wood,  and  then  in  stone,  he  received  one  "laub-thaler" 
per  week.  In  the  evenings  he  went  to  the  academy,  and 
modelled  in  clay  after  the  living  model,  by  which  he  gained 
a  silver  medal. 

In  four  months'  time  Christian  was  thrown  still  more 
on  his  own  resources  by  his  father's  death ;  but  his 
brother  Friedrich,  the  Schloss-castellan  of  Sans-Souci,  sup- 
plied his  place  as  far  as  possible,  sending  him  books,  and 
directing  the  course  of  the  young  sculptor. 

But  this  support  was  soon  withdrawn.  In  January, 
1797,  the  painful  news  came  from  Potsdam  of  the  danger- 
ous illness  of  Friedrich.  Christian  hastened  to  Potsdam 
only  to  find  his  brother  in  his  grave.2  He  took  his  papers 
to  carry  to  the  king,  who  had  felt  great  sympathy  for  the 
young  castellan,  and  wished  to  see  his  brother.  The  beau- 
tiful young  sculptor  charmed  the  king,  and  he  offered  him 
aid  in  his  art.  But  the  Kammerdiener  Rietz,  to  whom 
the  matter  was  left,  wished  to  engage  him  in  the  personal 

1  The  laub-thaler  was  an  old  French  coin  with  a  wreath  of  leaves  upon  it,  and 
hence  its  name.     As  it  had  gone  out  of  general  circulation,  it  was  often  used  as  a 
lucky  penny. 

2  For  the  grave  of  this  brother,  Ranch  designed  the  statue  of  Hope,  which  was 
one  of  his  last  works.     It  was  left  unfinished,  and  was  placed  over  his  own  grave. 


6  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

service  of  the  king,  and  represented  to  the  youth  that  he 
would  have  to  struggle  long  and  hard  as  a  sculptor,  while 
a  place  at  court  would  at  once  enable  him  to  support  his 
mother  and  younger  brother.  Therefore  Rauch  entered 
into  the  personal  service  of  King  Friedrich  Wilhelm  II. 
February  7,  1797. 

The  king  having  been  ordered  to  try  the  baths  of 
Pyrmont,  Rauch,  who  knew  the  locality  well,  went  thither 
to  make  arrangements  for  him,  and  was  allowed  to  spend 
a  week  with  his  mother,  for  the  last  time,  as  it  proved, 
although  she  lived  thirteen  years  afterwards. 

On  the  death  of  the  king  in  the  autumn,  Rauch  had 
much  leisure  for  his  work,  but  he  remained  in  the  service 
of  Queen  Louise,  the  wife  of  the  new  king,  Friedrich 
Wilhelm  III.  He  used  all  his  spare  time  for  study  ;  and  it 
is  said  that  the  queen  even  allowed  him  to  draw  while 
waiting  in  her  antechamber.  At  this  time  Berlin  afforded 
him  rich  opportunities  for  study.  The  plans  of  Frederic 
the  Great  in  founding  an  academy,  and  inviting  men  of 
talent  and  distinction  to  his  capital,  had  been  followed  by 
Friedrich  Wilhelm.  Best  of  all,  Schadow,  then  only 
twenty-four  years  old,  had  been  called  back  from  Rome, 
had  been  made  director  of  the  Royal  Atelier  of  Sculpture, 
and  had  received  a  commission  to  finish  a  monument  for 
"den  Grafen  von  den  Mark." 

From  this  time  dates  the  project  for  the  statue  of  Fred- 
eric the  Great,  which  the  army  had  wished  to  erect  even 
before  his  death,  but  which  Friedrich  Wilhelm  II.  preferred 
to  erect  at  his  own  cost.  Schadow,  at  the  king's  desire, 
had  made  a  model  in  Greek  costume,  and  the  disputes  in 
regard  to  classic  or  modern  drapery  had  already  begun  ; 
but  little  did  any  one  think  that  the  artist  who  was  to 
complete  the  monument  was  then  spending  his  precious 
days  in  the  queen's  antechamber. 

Only  in  the  evenings  could  Rauch  attend  the  studies  of 
the  academy,  or  the  lectures  of  Hirt  and  Rambach,  but 


BIRTH    AND    CHILDHOOD. LIFE    AT    COURT  7 

he  worked  unweariedly  in  every  moment  of  leisure  that 
he  could  command.  He  accompanied  the  youthful  royal 
pair  on  a  visit  to  Silesia  and  Posen.  They  were  every- 
where greeted  with  the  warmest  enthusiasm.  The  simple 
citizen's  life  of  this  happy  couple  might  seem  to  allow 
much  time  to  Rauch,  but  the  frequent  changes  of  resi- 
dence left  him  little  opportunity  for  study  ;  and  he  became 
impatient  at  the  want  of  satisfaction  for  his  strong  desire 
for  progress  in  his  art.  With  his  intense  love  of  work, 
this  easy  service  was  very  irksome  to  him. 

In  1798  he  petitioned  the  king  for  a  small  pension,  with 
opportunity  to  give  his  time  to  study.  The  king  refused 
to  exchange  his  salary  as  "  Lakay  "  for  two-thirds  of  the 
sum  as  an  artist,  suggesting  that,  as  he  was  situated,  he 
had  sufficient  opportunity  to  perfect  himself  in  art. 

In  1802  the  Emperor  Alexander  of  Russia  came  to 
Prussia,  and  formed  the  well-known  league  of  friendship 
with  its  king.  Rauch  was  appointed  to  the  special  service 
of  the  emperor,  who  gave  him  forty  ducats  for  his  attend- 
ance. On  his  return  journey  he  saw  Warsaw  for  the 
second  time,  and  met  the  artists  there  more  intimately. 
Meantime  his  unwearying  friend,  Baron  von  Schilden,  had 
secured  for  him  six  months'  leave  for  study  in  Dresden. 
In  addition  to  the  emperor's  gift  he  received  ten  Fried- 
ricks  d' or  from  the  king, — a  sum  we  need  not  despise 
when  we  remember  how  frugal  the  king  was  in  his  own 
household,  and  in  gifts  to  his  own  children. 

In  this  year  the  first  work  of  Rauch  was  exhibited. 
The  Sleeping  Endymion  and  Artemis,  as  well  as  some 
busts,  were  shown  in  the  academy. 

Through  the  winter  he  continued  in  the  service  of  the 
beloved  queen,  but  felt  discontented  that  he  was  not  fol- 
lowing the  right  path.  This  early  court  favor,  which  would 
have  seemed  the  height  of  good  fortune  to  many  men, 
was  almost  the  only  hindrance  which  Rauch  had  to  struggle 
with  in  his  artistic  career;  and,  since  his  mother  and 


8  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

young  brother  depended  on  him  for  support,  it  could 
hardly  have  been  won  for  them,  at  less  cost  to  his  artistic 
life,  in  any  other  way. 

But  the  next  summer  brought  to  him  an  influence  which 
made  him  feel  more  imperatively  the  necessity  of  follow- 
ing out  his  own  path. 

Schadow  had  paid  little  attention  to  Rauch,  considering 
him  only  as  an  amateur,  and  believing  that  if  he  had  any 
real  artistic  power  he  ought  to  have  shown  it  at  an  earlier 
age,  since  he  himself  at  twenty-four  was  already  court- 
sculptor,  while  Rauch  only  exhibited  his  first  work  at 
twenty-five.  As  soon,  however,  as  he  perceived  the  real 
earnestness  of  the  young  sculptor,  he  sympathized  warmly 
with  him,  gave  him  a  large  relief  to  model  after  a  sketch, 
•and  in  the  autumn  commissioned  him  to  put  it  in  plaster. 
The  subject  of  the  sketch  was  "The  Physician  Giving 
Help  on  the  Battlefield."  The  classical  tendency  is  very 
strong  in  this  work,  and  one  might  imagine  it  a  scene 
from  the  "  Iliad."  Besides  the  regular  pay,  Schadow  gave 
Rauch  a  gratuity  of  a  hundred  thalers  for  this  relief,  which 
made  Rauch  very  happy.  He  felt  the  joy  of  earning  in 
his  own  true  line.  Even  the  service  of  the  lovely  queen 
was  joyless  in  comparison,  and  again  and  again  he  sought 
to  be  released  from  it. 

But  his  request  was  always  refused  on  account  of  his 
charming  personality,  for  others  did  not  suspect  the 
greatness  in  him,  which  was  yet  unknown  to  himself.  He 
made  one  more  effort  with  the  king,  and  at  last,  January 
31,  1804,  the  long-desired  release  was  granted.  A  pension 
of  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  thalers  and  twelve  groschen 
was  allowed  him,  with  permission  to  go  to  Rome  and 
spend  it  there.  Thus  his  full  desire  was  gratified  ;  for  all 
his  longings  turned  to  Italy.  Baron  von  Schilden  offered 
him  two  hundred  thalers  for  his  journey  to  Rome,  and  as 
a  return  Rauch  modelled  a  bust  of  the  baron,  for  which 
he  received  one  hundred  thalers  more.  A  young  Count 


BIRTH    AND    CHILDHOOD. LIFE    AT    COURT  9 

Sandretzky  had  expressed  the  wish  for  the  company  of  a 
young  artist  on  his  journey  to  Rome,  and  it  was  decided 
that  Rauch  should  accompany  him,  going  to  Dresden  on 
the  first  of  August.  The  court  passed  the  summer  at 
Charlottenburg,  and  Rauch  was  allowed  to  model  the  bust 
of  the  queen.  According  to  his  own  judgment,  this  work 
was  somewhat  dry  and  stiff,  although  it  had  true  and  good 
points. 

The  young  traveller  had  already  begun  to  keep  a  diary, 
as  he  continued  to  do  all  his  life,  but  it  was  usually  more 
a  record  of  observations  and  facts  than  of  feelings ;  but 
as  he  started  on  this  eventful  journey  he  looked  back 
over  his  youthful  life  and  made  these  notes  in  pencil. 

"  I  left  Schwalbach  with  peculiar  reflections.  I  was 
here  in  March,  1793,  at  the  beginning  of  the  second  cam- 
paign of  Prussia  against  the  French.  I  met  my  brother 
on  the  march  hither  near  Wickert,  and  made  the  march 
to  that  place  with  him  ;  slept  one  night  there,  and  then, 
having  seen  my  brother  less  than  twenty-four  hours,  I 
travelled  back  in  storm  and  snow  over  Wiesbaden  to  my 
parents.  I  was  then  a  little  more  than  sixteen  years  old, 
and  beginning  to  learn  sculpture.  The  future  lay  in  the 
dark  distance  before  me.  All  was  expectation :  this 
tumult  of  strife  before  me,  never  before  seen  ;  the  crowds 
of  discontented  people ;  the  devastation  of  war,  then  in- 
comprehensible to  me ;  the  throng  of  people,  which 
formed  like  lines  on  foot  and  horseback  on  all  the  roads, 
amazed  me.  One  saw  this  scene  from  every  hill,  the 
fearful  Mainz  always  before  the  eyes.  All  this  made  me 
sick,  although  I  was  sound  in  body.  At  Wiesbaden, 
where  I  slept  the  next  night,  I  became  homesick,  and  I 
hurried  with  all  my  force  towards  home,  where  my  parents 
and  friends  expected  and  received  me.  Perhaps  I  tell 
this  little  digression  without  connection,  but  it  escaped 
me  without  my  will,  and  my  last  word  was  '  reflections.' 


IO  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

With  these  I  left  this  morning  the  misty  Schwalbach, 
which  brought  back  again  all  the  ideas  and  wishes  with 
which  I  then  travelled  this  way  ;  and  I  now  compared  them, 
thanking  Heaven  and  blessing  my  parents  that  what  I 
longed  for  eleven  years  before  (it  always  seemed  to  me  as 
if  my  innermost  wishes  would  be  gratified,  but  I  could 
not  count  upon  it  then)  was  brought  to  me  in  all  its  ful- 
ness at  this  moment,  when  I  was  hastening  to  glorious 
Rome,  —  my  goal,  the  goal  of  all  men  who  love  the  noble, 
especially  the  goal  of  artists  and  poets.  I  have  the  joy  of 
which  hundreds  are  worthy,  and  yet  they  cannot  reach  it. 
"  Grateful  and  happy,  I  stood  upon  the  height  and 
looked  over  the  broad  Rhine  valley.  The  Rhine  streams 
through  this  beautiful  meadow  about  green  islands  which 
seem  made  for  his  pastime,  or  as  if  he  made  them  himself. 
Above,  perhaps  in  the  region  of  Mannheim,  one  sees  it 
in  a  long  stripe  as  it  bounds  the  horizon,  and  through  this 
distant  opening  it  seems  to  rush  towards  one.  Mainz  has 
something  fearful  to  me,  it  lies  so  big,  so  strongly  forti- 
fied there,  watching  the  Rhine ;  there  is  something  com- 
manding in  this  part  of  the  landscape.  The  cathedral, 
the  castle,  the  specially  large  buildings,  have  a  decided 
blood-red  color,  and  this  is  fearfully  mirrored  in  the  water. 
The  long  bridge  of  seven  hundred  and  thirty  paces  appears 
from  the  road  like  a  little  string  of  pearls  binding  both 
shores  together. 


ROME. RETURN    TO    BERLIN 


CHAPTER   II 

ROME.  RETURN    TO    BERLIN 

1804-1810 

AUGUST  was  approaching.  Rauch's  friends  feared 
that  the  young  count  would  fail  to  accompany  him,  but 
Rauch  felt  sure  of  him,  because,  in  ten  minutes'  conver- 
sation, he  had  found  in  him  so  much  confidence  and 
sympathy.  The  count  was  awaiting  him  in  Dresden, 
and  they  visited  the  gallery  together.  They  left  Dresden 
the  fifth  of  August,  passing  by  Weimar,  Gotha,  Eisenach, 
Frankfurt,  and  Mainz  ;  then  down  the  Rhine,  travelling  by 
boat,  by  carriage,  or  on  foot,  with  extra  post  as  opportunity 
offered  or  the  humor  prompted  them. 

Rauch's  diary  has  preserved  for  us  a  most  interesting 
and  precious  record  of  his  experiences  and  thoughts. 

At  Ludwigsburg  he  first  saw  a  monument  of  Dan- 
necker's,  and  soon  afterwards  became  acquainted  with 
him.  He  speaks  thus  of  the  now  world-renowned  Ariadne  : 
"  Dannecker  has  modelled  a  life-sized  nude  Ariadne  rid- 
ing on  a  tiger ; 1  she  is  so  boldly  outstretched  that,  while 
taming  this  wild  beast,  she  seems  to  be  pleasantly  carried 
along  with  it !  " 

He  shows  in  his  journal  the  keenest  sensibility  to  the 
beautiful  natural  scenery  of  the  Rhine,  and  no  less  to  the 
interesting  historic  associations,  as  well  as  the  rare  objects 
of  scientific  interest,  like  the  beautiful  crystals.  Always 

1  Rauch  calls  this  animal  a  tiger,  but  opinions  seem  to  differ  in  regard  to  it,  and  it 
is  commonly  called  a  panther.  I  do  not  know  of  any  classical  authority  to  establish 
the  point. 


12  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

and  everywhere  he  had  his  eyes  open,  and  was  never  weary 
of  observation  and  study. 

The  journey  through  all  the  magnificence  of  Switzerland 
is  described  in  glowing  colors.  He  noted  everything,  the 
mountains,  the  trees,  the  flowers,  the  old  monuments,  and 
the  merry  dances  of  the  people.  But  he  felt  so  deeply, 
almost  painfully,  the  awful  sublimity  of  the  Alpine  heights, 
that  the  smiling  beauty  of  the  valleys  and  the  home-life 
of  the  peasants  was  a  relief  to  him.  At  Geneva  they 
rested  a  fortnight,  and  the  count  began  to  model  under 
Rauch's  direction.  Rauch  himself  made  a  sketch  for  a 
Genius  of  Death,  in  which  he  unintentionally  made  a  strik- 
ing likeness  of  Frederic  II.  the  Great ;  he  also  sketched 
Ariadne  lost  in  grief.  He  thought  of  carrying  out  this 
idea  in  Rome,  but  nothing  remains  of  it.  The  travellers 
passed  into  France  by  Lyons,  and  on  the  sixteenth  of 
October  Rauch  visited  the  atelier  of  Chinard,  of  whom  he 
speaks  with  generous  but  discriminating  praise.  "On  the 
whole,"  he  says,  "  the  mixture  of  old  French  and  modern 
Greek  style  is  mingled  in  his  work  in  a  somewhat  curious 
manner,  but  one  sees  in  it  the  industrious  artist  full  of 
talent.  I  have  never  seen  better  executed  busts.  His 
atelier  is  excellent.  It  was  formerly  a  church,  which  stood 
in  the  Revolution.  It  was  a  pity  that  we  did  not  see  him. 
He  was  absent  in  Bourdeaux." 

At  Nimes,  Rauch  first  saw  one  of  the  monuments  of 
that  classic  antiquity  whose  spirit  he  had  imbibed  so  fully. 
"  October  18  we  saw  in  Nimes  the  splendid  theatre,  this 
immense  building !  For  the  first  time  I  greeted  with  rev- 
erence a  work  of  the  genius  and  the  hands  of  Roman 
greatness  ;  it  was  always  my  childish  wish  to  see  the  Col- 
iseum ;  here  I  see  the  daughter !  Timidly,  as  becomes  a 
child  of  nobody,  of  misery,  I  stand  there  with  open  mouth, 
and  nod  to  my  neighbor  :  Yes,  yes,  that  is  true,  that  is  a 
building  !  That  is  very  beautiful !  The  count  has  the 
good  idea  that  one  might,  with  right  good  profit,  give  up 


ROMP:. RETURN    TO    BERLIN  13 

a  whole  life  to  be  a  Roman  only  for  four  weeks  :  I  believe 
it  with  a  good  conscience,  without  fearing  repentance." 
This  almost  boyish  enthusiasm  for  antiquity  lasted  all 
through  his  life.  "  Then  we  went  to  the  so-called  Maison 
Carree,  a  very  poor  name  for  a  very  fine  temple.  It  cor- 
responds completely  to  the  idea  of  joyous  holiness,  a  canon 
for  beautiful,  light,  pure  architecture." 

At  Marseilles,  Rauch  gives  vent  to  his  enthusiasm  for 
the  sea  and  the  noble  ship,  "  so  built  that  the  sea  cannot 
destroy  it,  only  iron  and  rock."  But  a  day  or  two  after- 
wards he  saw  the  reverse  side  of  sea  life,  for  he  was  "ganz 
teuflich"  seized  by  sea-sickness,  and  at  no  price  would  he 
stay  on  the  rocking  vessel.  He  preferred  to  seek  an  old 
house,  three-quarters  of  an  hour  away,  there  to  eat  a  sup- 
per of  bread  and  oil,  with  bread  perfumed  with  spoiled 
olives,  and  to  make  his  night-quarters  in  a  bed  three  steps 
high  from  the  ground,  and  on  straw  that  had  lately  been 
trodden  by  the  cattle.  "  We  would  have  slept  with  all 
that  as  in  Abraham's  bosom,  but  the  rats  must  hold  a  fes- 
tival, which  they  do  once  every  year,  for  I  never  heard 
leaps  and  tones  of  such  a  wonderful  kind  from  these 
people." 

December  2,  at  two  o'clock  in  the  morning,  they  arrived 
in  Genoa,  in  beautiful,  clear  moonlight,  so  that  he  says, 
"  The  palaces  and  churches  of  polished  marble  shone  out 
like  the  eyes  in  a  peacock's  tail." 

After  describing  the  splendid  buildings  and  porches,  he 
writes,  "  This  was  not  all  that  made  it  so  imposing,  but 
the  plan,  the  thought,  the  construction,  the  relation  of  the 
single  parts  to  the  whole.  One  does  not  look  for  the 
Greek  style  in  it,  but  for  the  old  time  of  the  kingdom, 
the  broad  consciousness  of  power  and  freedom,  when 
Andrea  Doria  ruled  the  sea,  and  each  looked  up  with 
envy  to  the  higher  power  ;  so  one  sees  here  the  strife  of 
rank  —  every  one  is  prince.  Quite  lost  in  these  monu- 
ments of  former  greatness,  I  enjoyed  these  impressions, 


14  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

which  the  'Superb  Genoa'  will  always  keep  for  me.  From 
my  childhood  the  name  of  Genoa  was  for  me  bound  up 
with  the  mystic,  the  sublime.  The  actual  has  often 
shown  me  my  impressions  were  wrong,  but  not  here. 
Indeed,  my  Genoese  are  no  longer  in  the  long  halls  and 
secluded  streets  of  Genoa,  but  her  whole  I,  her  character 
in  special,  speaks  plainly  in  these  surroundings  which  she 
created  around  her.  Exactly  as  the  Greeks  and  Egyp- 
tians speak  in  their  temples,  so  do  the  Genoese  in  their 
palaces."  This  extract  shows  with  what  living  imagina- 
tive observation  the  young  artist  looked  at  everything. 

On  the  twenty-third  of  December,  1804,  he  attended  a 
great  ball  in  Genoa,  in  honor  of  the  coronation  of  Napo- 
leon I.  as  emperor.  Everything  was  in  great  splendor, 
only  guests  failed.  At  eight  o'clock,  although  the  invita- 
tion was  for  seven,  not  a  dozen  guests  had  arrived.  "  Was 
a  slight  rain  the  hindrance  ?  "  he  asks,  "  or  did  the  invited 
not  care  to  join  in  festivities  on  this  occasion  ? " 

The  travellers  hoped  to  pass  New  Year's  Day,  1805,  in 
Milan,  but  they  were  so  much  delayed  by  the  bad  travel- 
ling that  they  reached  there  only  on  the  second.  The 
beautiful  cathedral  was  not  then  finished,  but  Rauch 
admired  its  great  extent  and  richness.  "The  first  thought 
inspired,"  he  says,  "is  rest." 

He  speaks  with  enthusiasm  of  the  "  Last  Supper  "  of 
Leonardo  da  Vinci,  which  is  injured,  "but  not  enough  to 
prevent  one's  finding  in  it  all  the  great  essentials  of  art." 
"  Only  a  few  times  in  my  life,"  he  says,  "  have  I  had  much 
satisfaction  in  pictures,  and  never,  I  believe,  any  like  this." 
The  concentration  of  interest  of  all  the  characters  in  the 
scene  passing  before  them  impresses  him  deeply. 

At  Parma  the  loveliness  of  Correggio  gives  him  delight. 
In  the  convent  of  San  Paolo  a  French  painter  was  copying 
the  groups  of  boys  looking  through  the  windows,  and 
Rauch  had  an  opportunity  of  close  study  from  the  scaf- 
folding. He  says,  "  Correggio  never  could  have  produced 


ROME. RETURN  TO  BERLIN  15 

anything  more  lovely,  more  charming,  nor  even  Raphael; 
but  how  dangerous  for  a  convent  !  " 

Ranch  entered  Rome,  not  only  secured  against  outward 
want  by  the  pension  granted  him  by  the  king,  but  amply 
prepared  to  enjoy  and  learn  from  everything,  by  his  pre- 
vious study  and  observations.  From  the  beginning  of  his 
artistic  career  his  longings  had  turned  thither,  and  he  had 
so  prepared  himself  for  acquaintance  with  its  treasures 
that  he  need  lose  no  time  in  beginning  his  work.  He 
arrived  at  Rome  at  a  favorable  time  for  art.  The  Ger- 
man revival,  which  began  twenty  years  before  Rauch's 
birth,  was  now  in  full  flower.  Lessing  and  Schiller  had 
done  their  work  in  poetry  and  criticism.  Germans  were 
taking  the  lead  in  sculpture  at  Rome.  Winckelmann  had 
opened  anew  the  study  of  Greek  antiquity.  When  Gott- 
fried Schadow  was  in  Rome,  from  1785  to  1787,  he  often 
found  himself  alone  in  the  great  galleries  of  sculpture,  in 
spite  of  the  great  number  of  artists  in  the  city  who  might 
have  been  expected  to  be  attracted  by  them.  The  French 
David,  in  1784,  was  devoted  to  the  classic  in  his  way,  and 
he  held  modern  Rome  inthralled  by  his  picture  of  the 
"  Oath  of  the  Horatii  and  Curatii."  "  David  and  his 
school,"  says  Dr.  Eggers,  "  is  a  back-grasp  into  the  Roman 
world,  with  that  theatrical  accent  brought  out  which  is 
alike  characteristic  of  old  Rome  and  of  modern  France." 
Then  Carstens,  and  others  who  had  seen  the  Greek  with 
more  sympathetic  eyes,  followed  in  the  same  path. 

Rome  was  undisturbed  by  the  stormy  scenes  of  the 
French  Revolution,  and  afforded  a  quiet  spot  for  the 
unfolding  of  art.  Karl  Ludwig  Fernow  had  introduced 
the  philosophy  of  Kant  with  enthusiasm  to  Rome,  and 
thus  Rauch  became  interested  in  the  great  master  of 
thought,  whose  monument  he  afterwards  erected  in  stone. 

Many  other  important  influences  were  at  work.  The 
young  Rumohr  had  just  made  the  first  of  his  five  Italian 
journeys  which  led  to  those  "  ForscJiungen "  which  must 


l6  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

count  as  the  foundation  of  the  German  study  of  art 
found  in  Hegel's  "  Philosophy  "  and  Kugler's  "  History  of 
Painting."  Among  the  Catholics  was  D'Agincourt,  who 
had  written  a  history  of  the  art  of  the  Middle  Ages. 
Protestantism  had  also  its  representatives.  "August  Wil- 
helm  von  Schlegel,  Tieck,  and  his  brother,  who  was  de- 
voted to  Greek  forms,  formed  with  Madame  de  Stael  a 
distinguished  company." 

But  the  person  who  united  most  perfectly  this  society, 
"the  like  of  which,"  says  Dr.  Eggers,  "was  never  seen  in 
Rome,  either  before  or  since,"  was  Wilhelm  von  Hum- 
boldt,  whose  noble  personality  drew  around  him  all  that 
was  most  learned  and  artistic  from  every  land. 

He  went  to  Rome  in  1802  as  resident  minister  of  Prus- 
sia, an  office  which  clothed  him  with  a  certain  authority, 
although  it  involved  no  pressure  of  business.  Full  of 
learning,  liberal  and  moderate  in  religion,  and  loving 
Rome  as  the  Romans  did,  no  minister  had  ever  been  so 
beloved  by  all  classes  of  people.  Fate  willed  that  even 
a  dearer  tie  bound  him  to  the  classic  soil,  since  his  beloved 
eldest  son  was  buried  in  Roman  ground.  His  wife,  full 
of  every  womanly  charm,  joined  in  his  studies,  while  she 
cared  diligently  for  his  comfort ;  and  her  wide  correspond- 
ence with  many  of  the  best  artists  of  her  time  shows  her 
deep  and  intelligent  interest  in  art,  as  well  as  her  motherly 
kindness.1 

While  Humboldt  was  busy  in  collecting  a  museum  of 
casts  to  remind  him  of  Rome  in  quiet  Tegel,  his  wife  em- 
ployed the  painters ;  for  this  happy  couple  were  comple- 
ments of  each  other,  as  his  nature  was  inclined  to  plastic 
art,  and  hers  to  painting  and  music.  From  splendid  recep- 
tions, where  princes  and  cardinals  were  present,  to  the 
simplest  artistic  reunions,  the  most  charming  society  was 

1  Yet  later,  one  New  Year's  time,  when  Rauch  was  in  Berlin,  Frau  von  Humboldt 
had  filled  his  bureau  with  fine  linen  shirts,  so  that  he  declares  the  drawers  do  not  shut 
so  easily  as  before. 


ROME. RETURN  TO  BERLIN  \-j 

found  at  this  house,  and  all  its  delights  were  brought  to 
their  height  when  Alexander  von  Humboldt  returned  from 
America.  All  hung  on  his  lips  as  he  described  the  won- 
ders of  a  newly  discovered  country  in  his  mingling  of 
scientific  and  poetic  speech. 

Into  this  charmed  circle  Rauch  was  welcomed  most 
cordially,  this  family  becoming  as  dear  to  him  as  his  own. 
The  relation  of  unbroken  love  and  intimacy  remained  un- 
changed to  the  latest  day  of  his  life.  Could  the  inherit- 
ance of  a  kingdom  have  been  so  helpful  to  a  young  artist  ? 
As  Wilhelm  von  Humboldt  studied  language,  and  found 
in  it  the  means  of  expression,  so  Rauch  made  plastic  art 
the  vehicle  for  every  thought  and  feeling. 

Rauch  assisted  Humboldt  in  making  his  collection  of 
casts,  and  took  charge  of  his  house  and  grounds  when  he 
was  in  Albano.  He  instructed  the  children  in  drawing, 
and  here  showed  those  admirable  powers  of  teaching, 
rather  by  examples  and  facts,  than  by  words,  which  came 
afterwards  into  play  with  the  numerous  pupils  in  his 
atelier.1 

While  Thorwaldsen,  in  his  devotion  to  classic  art,  had 
at  once  begun  to  express  himself  in  works  in  direct  imi- 
tation of  the  antique,  Rauch  felt  it  to  be  a  necessary 
preparation  for  his  future  career  to  study  the  antique 
thoroughly,  and,  as  it  were,  to  assimilate  its  life,  that  he 
might  reproduce  it  in  relation  to  his  own  time.  This 
course  marked  a  strong  characteristic  of  his  art,  which 
was  so  filled  with  the  past  and  so  true  to  the  present. 
The  celebrated  scholars  Zoega  and  Welcher  were  his 

1  A  funny  incident  will  illustrate  his  methods  of  discipline.  He  thought  that  the 
children  were  too  devoted  to  their  dolls,  of  which  they  had  a  numerous  family,  and 
one  morning  they  found  them  all  hanging  to  the  bell-rope.  The  children  felt  deeply 
for  the  ignominious  suffering  of  their  family  through  the  night,  and  sought  revenge 
on  their  master.  They  put  a  dozen  eggs  into  his  bed  under  the  sheets,  and  watched 
eagerly  in  the  morning  for  their  teacher's  coming.  To  their  surprise,  he  came  in  with 
a  basket  in  his  hand,  saying  that  he  had  a  gift  for  the  most  industrious.  Their  faces 
lengthened  when,  at  the  end  of  the  lesson,  he  brought  out  the  eggs,  which  had  given 
him  as  bad  a  night  as  he  had  the  dolls. 


1 8  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH. 

guides  in  these  studies,  and  he  was  busily  engaged  in 
making  collections,  and  in  drawing  for  himself  and  Hum- 
boldt.  Finally  he  decided  to  make  an  attempt  at  an 
original  work,  and  he  modelled  a  relief  of  Jason.  It  re- 
mained long  unfinished  in  Thorwaldsen's  studio,  and  may 
now  be  found  in  the  Ranch  Museum.  He  also  made  some 
busts,  especially  one  of  Queen  Louise,  which  led  to  his 
first  great  work. 

The  stirring  political  events  in  Europe,  which  affected 
Prussia  so  deeply,  obliged  Wilhelm  von  Humboldt,  who 
had  never  meant  to  leave  Rome,  to  return  to  Germany,  to 
give  his  aid  in  defence  of  the  Fatherland.  In  the  autumn 
of  1808  he  went  thither,  taking  only  his  son  Theodore, 
and  leaving  the  rest  of  his  family  in  Rome.  Rome  had 
become  a  French  state,  and  Rauch  received  an  appoint- 
ment to  select  works  of  art  for  an  exhibition.  Amid  all 
the  political  excitement,  Wilhelm  von  Humboldt  did  not 
forget  the  friend  he  had  left  behind,  but  succeeded,  to  the 
astonishment  of  many,  in  procuring  a  cabinet  order  increas- 
ing his  pension  from  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  to  four 
hundred  thalers.  Humboldt  expresses  his  delight  at  this 
success,  and  also  his  pleasure  in  Rauch's  restoration  of  an 
ancient  bass-relief. 

Frau  von  Humboldt  kept  Rauch's  twenty-third  birthday 
by  a  delightful  reunion  of  artists,  where  Zacharias  Werner 
declaimed  and  sang,  and  Jagemann  blew  on  the  horn 
melodies  which  Thorwaldsen  was  heard  repeating  in  the 
workshop.  The  "  incomparable  Li,"  as  they  called  Frau 
von  Humboldt,  exerted  all  her  powers  to  make  the  evening 
delightful. 

In  March,  Rauch  went  with  Frau  von  Humboldt  to 
Naples.  He  found  the  living  art  miserable.  "One  would 
think  the  artists  were  only  joking,"  he  said ;  a  severe 
criticism  from  Rauch,  to  whom  art  was  ever  the  most 
serious  vocation. 


ROME. RETURN    TO    BERLIN  19 

This  year  brought  to  him  and  to  Prussia  a  heavy  loss. 
On  the  thirty-first  of  July  came  the  news  of  the  death  of 
Queen  Louise.  Ranch  completed  her  bust,  and  ventured 
to  send  it  to  the  king  on  the  seventh  of  September. 
Here  begins  the  story  of  the  celebrated  monument  by 
which  Rauch  is  best  known  to  American  travellers,  and 
perhaps  to  all  the  world.  As  its  history  runs  over  several 
years,  I  shall  leave  the  subject  now,  and  bring  it  into  a 
separate  and  connected  history. 

Wilhelm  von  Humboldt  was  appointed  Minister  to 
Austria,  which  led  to  his  wife  and  family  leaving  Rome 
and  joining  him  in  Vienna  in  1810.  The  loss  of  the  home 
which  had  afforded  him  so  many  happy  hours  made  a 
great  change  to  Rauch.  He  accompanied  the  family  to 
Florence,  where  the  presence  of  Thorwaldsen  afforded 
some  relief  to  his  loneliness.  He  needed  all  this  conso- 
lation, for  it  was  indeed  a  great  loss,  which  changed  all  his 
life  at  Rome.  He  almost  tired  Thorwaldsen  out,  driving 
from  gallery  to  gallery  to  drown  his  grief.  All  his  affec- 
tions clung  around  the  rooms  in  Trinita  del  Monte,  and 
all  others  seemed  strangers  to  him  in  comparison  with  the 
beloved  family.  His  thoughts  follow  them  to  Vienna, 
and,  when  he  hears  that  they  are  all  re-united  there,  he 
exclaims,  "How  much  joy  in  one  day,  in  one  family! 
What  is  a  wedding-day  compared  to  it  ? "  These  words 
give  us  a  glimpse  of  the  strength  of  Rauch's  affections, 
which  he  was  rather  chary  of  expressing. 

Humboldt's  letter  (which  is  spoken  of  elsewhere), 
recalling  him  to  Berlin,  fell  like  a  bombshell  into  Rauch's 
heart,  which  was  so  full  of  his  work  in  Rome  and  the 
garden  which  he  was  taking  care  of  for  Frau  von  Humboldt. 
He  had  sat  so  steadily  at  his  work  on  the  Jason,  that  the 
thumb  of  his  right  hand  was  disabled.  But  now  the 
model  was  finished  in  all  its  folds,  even  to  the  smallest 
details. 

But  Ranch  had  no  choice  but  to  leave  it  all.     The  long- 


2O  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

expected  sons  of  Schadow  arrived,  and  he  left  to  the 
sculptor  Rudolf  his  atelier,  and  his  dwelling-house  to 
both  of  them.  He  gave  his  relief  to  the  moulder  to  make 
an  impression,  to  keep  until  he  could  take  it  up  again 
from  the  beginning. 

He  left  Rome  on  the  second  of  February,  and  passed  a 
happy  week  with  the  Humboldts  at  Vienna.  He  found 
the  lady  of  the  house  in  better  health  and  more  delightful 
than  ever,  while  Humboldt  himself  had  become  more 
earnest  and  thoughtful,  and  even  older.  It  was  no  wonder  ; 
he  had  learned  to  take  the  sufferings  of  his  people  to  his 
head  and  heart,  and  was  for  a  short  time  relieved  from 
his  diplomatic  activity. 

Rauch  had  been  absent  from  Berlin  six  years.  They 
were  student  years  in  every  sense  of  the  word.  In  the 
society  of  the  most  cultivated  men  of  his  time,  absent 
from  the  exciting  political  disturbances  of  his  country, 
freed  from  pecuniary  care,  he  enjoyed  one  of  the  greatest 
of  mortal  privileges,  that  of  carrying  out  his  own  life  in 
freedom.  Now  his  work  was  to  begin. 

The  meeting  with  his  early  benefactor,  Friedrich  Wil- 
helm  III.,  was  full  of  both  joy  and  pain,  since  during  his 
absence  the  king  had  lost  half  his  kingdom  by  the 
peace  of  Tilsit,  and  half  his  life  through  the  death  of  his 
wife.  The  king  was  too  much  overcome  by  emotion  to 
speak  of  the  commission  he  had  given  to  Rauch.  The 
artist  found  the  king's  countenance  ennobled  by  these 
deep  experiences,  and  was  struck  by  his  beauty  and  his 
frank,  manly  bearing  as  never  before.  Perhaps  at  this 
moment  arose  in  his  mind  the  ideal  of  a  true  king,  which 
he  has  so  beautifully  embodied  in  the  statue  made  many 
years  later. 

Next  to  the  welcome  of  his  bereaved  king,  he  felt  the 
kind  greeting  of  his  master  in  art,  Schadow,  who  offered 
him  a  place  in  his  home  and  his  atelier. 

Rauch  was  now  settled  at  Charlottenburg,  in  order  to 


ROME. RETURN    TO    BERLIN  21 

begin  the  work  for  the  full-sized  monument  of  the  queen. 
He  had  his  workshop  in  the  spacious  castle.  From  it  he 
looked  into  the  large  garden  remarkable  for  its  beautiful 
trees.  "  There,"  says  Dr.  Eggers,  "  in  his  leisure  hours 
he  walked  with  his  little  daughter,  whom  fate  had  sent  to 
him  ;  there,  after  the  refreshing  rains,  he  enjoyed  the 
luxury  of  the  North  German  summer." 

This  brief  mention  is  all  that  the  biographer  gives 
of  the  relation  which  brought  to  Rauch  his  "adopted 
daughters,"  who  became  to  him  a  great  joy  and  comfort 
for  the  rest  of  his  life.  Although  there  are  various  rumors 
still  afloat  in  regard  to  this  connection,  they  differ  so 
widely  that  I  cannot  venture  to  give  any  of  them  as 
reliable,  and  I  must  leave  the  subject  under  the  kindly 
veil  of  mystery  which  has  always  shrouded  it. 

While  we  cannot  approve  the  action  of  Rauch,  if,  as 
conjectured,  he  formed  such  a  tie  without  legal  sanction, 
it  was  too  common  an  occurrence  at  that  time  to  incur 
severe  censure  ;  and  the  whole  testimony  is  that  he  did 
everything  to  atone  for  his  fault,  by  the  adoption  of  the 
children,  whom  he  fondly  loved  and  carefully  educated. 
The  universal  affection  and  respect  felt  for  him  led  to 
their  full  reception  in  the  distinguished  society  in  which 
he  moved ;  and,  as  we  shall  see  in  the  course  of  our  narra- 
tive, he  was  exemplary  in  his  relation  as  a  father,  and  his 
daughters  returned  his  affection  and  repaid  his  care. 

From  his  pleasant  retreat  at  Charlottenburg,  Rauch 
kept  up  an  active  correspondence  with  the  friends  he  had 
left  at  Rome,  with  his  dear  ones  at  Vienna,  and  with 
Lund  at  Stockholm.  Unlike  most  artists,  Rauch  was  an 
excellent  correspondent,  and  his  letters,  written  in  a  free, 
vigorous  style,  give  us  vivid  pictures  of  his  life  and 
thoughts. 

When  the  king  consented  to  Ranch's  return  to  Rome, 
to  put  the  model  of  the  queen's  monument  into  marble,  he 
made  diligent  preparation  for  his  journey  and  his  studies 


22  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

there.  He  filled  up  the  hollow  of  the  model  of  the  statue 
with  Greek  translations,  which  he  bought  for  twenty- 
seven  thalers.  He  longed  for  the  sunshine  of  Rome. 
He  had  contracted  a  fever  from  working  in  the  damp,  cold 
room  of  the  castle,  and  Kohlrausch,  a  friend  of  Humboldt, 
took  care  of  him.  In  the  days  free  from  fever  he  made 
two  busts,  one  of  the  Countess  of  Brandenburg,  in  which 
he  took  little  satisfaction,  as  she  had  a  cold,  expressionless 
face,  while  he  worked  with  enthusiasm  on  that  of  the 
king,  whom  he  greatly  admired.  This  bust  in  plaster  was 
freely  sold,  and  he  was  now  obliged  to  make  one  of  the 
Princess  Wilhelm.  But  being  again  attacked  with  fever, 
the  king  sent  him  to  his  physician  Hufeland,  who  decidedly 
advised  his  departure.  It  was  arranged  that  Rudolf 
Schadow,  who  had  returned  to  Berlin  for  a  while,  should 
be  his  travelling  companion,  and  a  carriage  was  bought 
for  the  journey. 

He  took  leave  of  the  king  beside  the  monument,  and  at 
this  time  proposed  that  a  pair  of  white  marble  candelabra 
might  be  placed  at  both  sides  of  the  statue,  to  which  the 
king  assented.  He  was  all  impatience  to  start,  but  found 
the  truth  of  Frau  von  Humboldt's  saying,  "  Reisen  Icidet 
immer  Aufschub"  They  did  not  get  away  until  January 
4,  and  did  not  reach  Vienna  until  the  fourteenth.  Schadow 
was  invited  to  stay  with  him,  and  they  passed  two  happy 
weeks  at  the  Humboldts',  where  he  had  to  renew  his 
acquaintance  with  the  children,  who  had  grown  apace. 

He  went  also  to  Munich,  invited  by  the  crown  prince. 
The  Crown  Prince  Ludwig  was  then  twenty-six  years  old, 
and  already  devoted  to  art.  He  had  begun  to  make  collec- 
tions of  antiquities,  and  he  wished  the  assistance  of 
Rauch  in  securing  them,  as  he  feared  the  competition  of 
"  the  rich  English."  He  also  wished  him  to  make  several 
busts ;  and  Rauch  took  with  him  to  Rome  models  of  Van 
Dyck,  Snyders,  Tromp,  and  Hans  Sachs.  Rauch  won  the 
friendship  of  the  crown  prince,  who  kept  up  a  constant 


ROME. RETURN    TO    BERLIN  23 

correspondence  with  him.  He  also  rejoiced  in  an  inti- 
mate acquaintance  with  Schelling.  Still,  he  felt  keenly 
the  separation  from  the  Humboldts,  and  the  uncertainty 
of  seeing  them  again ;  and  it  was  not  until  he  arrived  at 
Florence  that  the  old  charm  of  Italy  began  to  work  upon 
him.  Schadow  went  on  to  Rome  ;  but  Rauch  went  to 
Carrara,  where  he  spent  the  whole  day  in  mountains  and 
quarries,  seeking  for  stone  suitable  for  his  work.  He 
decided  to  stay  in  Carrara  through  the  summer,  to  block 
out  the  statue  and  sarcophagus  there,  and  so  send  them 
much  lightened  to  Rome. 

He  was  full  of  excitement  in  Rome,  revisiting  old 
places,  greeting  old  friends,  and  noting  the  changes  which 
even  a  year  of  absence  had  produced.  All  Rome  was  then 
excited  over  the  expected  coming  of  the  Emperor  Napo- 
leon. Rome  would  again  be  the  seat  of  empire,  and  rule 
the  world.  The  Pope  must  depart.  "  Long  live  the 
emperor  who  will  come  and  live  on  the  Quirinal ! "  was 
the  cry.  The  artists  were  full  of  zeal  to  decorate  the 
palace  for  the  residence  of  his  Imperial  Majesty  ;  and 
even  Thorwaldsen,  who  had  been  ill  and  miserable,  worked 
himself  well  over  his  great  bass-relief,  "  The  Procession 
of  Alexander." 

Rauch  was  entirely  out  of  sympathy  with  this  feeling, 
looking  upon  Napoleon  as  the  arch-enemy  of  his  father- 
land. He  regarded  the  shows  only  with  an  artistic  eye, 
finding  much  opportunity  for  observation  and  study. 
While  waiting  for  his  restored  models  to  dry,  he  made  a 
bust  of  Thorwaldsen,  which  his  friend  liked  so  much  that 
he  put  it  in  marble.  The  crown  prince  Ludwig  of  Bava- 
ria kept  up  a  lively  correspondence  with  him,  and  could 
buy  nothing  for  the  future  Glyptothek  without  his  advice. 
He  was  also  to  have  all  the  busts  he  had  modelled  for  the 
prince  put  into  marble.  On  the  thirty-first  of  July  he  left 
Rome  again  for  the  quarries  of  Carrara.  At  that  time 
Carrara  seemed  a  place  of  banishment  from  Rome,  for  the 


24  LIFE   OF   CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

artists  did  not  generally  work  there.  Rauch  proposed, 
however,  to  have  all  the  busts  for  Prince  Ludwig  cut  at  the 
quarries  ;  and  he  even  suggested  to  the  king  to  have  all  the 
mausoleum  made  in  Carrara,  as  he  found  better  workmen 
than  in  Rome.  Here,  to  his  delight,  were  both  Tieck  and 
Bartolini.  He  also  proposed  to  cut  a  sitting  statue  of 
Humboldt's  second  daughter,  Adelheid,  of  which  he  had 
made  a  model  on  a  former  visit  to  Rome.  He  delights  in 
this  work,  and  sends  to  Vienna  for  an  exact  profile,  as, 
although  he  remembers  her  face  well,  she  has  changed  in 
the  ten  years  since  he  has  seen  her. 

For  this,  as  for  the  queen's  statue,  he  can  hardly  find 
marble  pure  enough  ;  but  at  last  he  selects  a  suitable  piece 
of  Erestola,  and  on  the  fourteenth  of  September  the  first 
point  in  the  stone  is  made. 

During  his  stay  at  Rome  at  this  time  Rauch  felt  much 
annoyed  by  the  tendencies  of  the  artists  towards  Cathol- 
icism. When  he  came  into  their  society,  formerly  so 
pleasant,  and  wished  to  hear  the  news  from  beyond 
the  Alps,  "  the  mad  Zacharias  Werner  took  the  word,  and 
when  he  was  through  with  his  crosses  on  the  platter, 
plate,  bread,  breast,  and  brow,  talked  incessantly  of  the 
miracles  of  Monsignor  Manocchi." 

The  company  at  table,  except  Rudolf  Schadow,  and 
Thorwaldsen,  who  talked  little,  held  the  Church  Fathers 
closely  to  heart,  and  the  most  unpleasant  things  were 
said  against  the  faith  in  which  Rauch  had  been  piously 
brought  up,  by  those  who  had  foresworn  this  faith  only  a 
few  weeks  before. 

From  such  troubles  he  turned  to  work  as  his  great 
consoler.  He  kept  a  constant  oversight  over  all  that  was 
doing  in  Carrara,  inquiring  about  every  part,  and  knowing 
to  what  workman  it  was  committed.  He  wrote  regularly 
once  a  week,  and  these  letters  are  filed  in  perfect  order, 
and  if  one  is  out  of  the  regular  time  it  is  marked  "extra." 
He  was  thoroughly  exact  and  orderly  in  all  his  accounts. 


ROME.  RETURN    TO    BERLIN  25 

It  is  to  these  traits  that  he  owed  the  freedom  from 
pecuniary  embarrassments  and  other  petty  cares  which 
have  despoiled  the  lives  of  so  many  artists.  It  is  good  to 
see  that  order  and  exactness  are  not  inconsistent  with 
genius. 

If  it  had  been  possible  to  put  the  affairs  of  Rome  and 
Germany  into  order  with  a  chisel,  Rauch  would  have  been 
the  man  to  do  it,  and  he  would  have  been  at  peace,  but  as 
it  was,  he  was  full  of  unrest. 

In  his  letters  to  Tieck  he  constantly  mixes  up  sculpture 
and  politics,  and  one  might  gather  the  whole  history  of 
the  German  uprising  for  freedom  from  his  letters.  This 
lively  correspondence  attracts  the  attention  of  the  French 
police.  He  is  arrested  and  taken  to  prison,  and  his  cor- 
respondence examined  and  sealed  up.  He  is  held  only 
twenty-four  hours,  and  his  papers  are  returned,  except  the 
correspondence  with  Bussler  in  regard  to  the  queen's 
statue,  which  has  never  come  to  light. 

But  good  news  soon  came  from  Berlin  to  make  up  for 
this  annoyance.  Schadow  writes  him  the  most  glowing 
descriptions,  first  of  the  battle  of  Grossbeeren,  and  then 
of  the  glorious  victory  of  Leipzig.  "I  never  had  such 
joy  in  my  life ! "  he  exclaims  to  Tieck.  "  If  you  were 
only  here,  that  we  might  rejoice  together  over  our  happy 
lot ;  for  every  day  brings  something  newer  and  better,  for 
freedom  is  the  highest  blessing."  He  pities  his  friend 
that  he  must  spend  the  long  evenings  alone  there  in 
Carrara,  when  the  seven  stars  and  the  clear  moon  are 
shining  on  such  beautiful  things  on  the  surface  of  the 
earth. 

In  spite  of  his  care  in  sending  letters  under  cover,  he 
is  again  arrested  by  the  police,  and  ordered  to  quit  Rome 
within  twenty-four  hours ;  but  by  the  intervention  of 
Canova,  a  deputation  of  French  artists,  with  the  director 
of  the  academy  at  their  head,  procured  him  permission  to 
remain. 


26  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

These  events  made  his  residence  in  Rome  very  dreary, 
and,  much  as  he  feared  the  solitude  of  Carrara,  he  longed 
to  go  thither  to  get  through  his  work.  He  beguiled  his 
anxiety  with  reading,  especially  Roscoe's  "  Leo  X.,"  and 
the  memorials  of  that  great  time  ;  and  M.  Angelo's  works, 
which  he  had  formerly  been  too  much  absorbed  in  Greek 
art  to  attend  to,  now  began  to  occupy  him.  Excavations 
were  also  going  on  in  Rome,  and  the  Barberini  Faun  and 
other  statues  were  purchased  for  Prince  Ludwig. 

Canova  and  Thorwaldsen  were  producing  their  best 
works,  and  Rauch  speaks  of  Canova's  Three  Graces  as 
"  happy  and  original  in  composition,  living  and  naive."  He 
is  also  especially  interested  in  Thorwaldsen's  Procession 
of  Alexander,  which  he  considers  the  best  thing  in  this 
art  in  modern  times.  These  distinguished  sculptors  were 
equally  pleased  with  his  work,  and  proposed  him  as  a 
member  of  the  senate  of  the  Academy  of  St.  Luke. 

January  19,  General  Pignatelli  took  possession  of  Rome 
in  the  name  of  the  King  of  Naples.  Rauch  would  have 
preferred  that  the  Germans  should  be  the  liberators,  yet 
he  was  delighted  to  be  freed  from  the  French  rule.  The 
winter  was  pleasant,  without  snow  or  ice,  and  he  says, 
"  Everything  is  green  like  our  hopes." 

On  his  way  to  Carrara,  February  12,  he  was  attacked 
by  robbers,  but  escaped  at  the  cost  of  nine  Roman  scudi. 
He  was  so  deeply  interested  in  current  events,  that  his 
walls  were  hung  with  military  maps,  which  he  now  en- 
joyed more  than  the  pictures  of  Raphael.  Great  was  his 
delight,  therefore,  to  receive  from  Prince  Ludwig  a  com- 
mission to  make  a  bust  of  Bliicher,  the  hero  of  the  day. 
As  this  was  to  be  from  life,  however,  he  had  to  defer  it 
until  he  could  leave  Italy.  He  expressed  his  feelings  by 
modelling  a  bust  of  the  king  crowned  with  laurel.  He 
was  anxious  to  hasten  to  Berlin  to  meet  the  statue  of  the 
queen,  but  many  unfinished  works  tempted  him  to  delay. 
He  employed  seven  workmen,  and  would  have  liked  many 


ROME.  RETURN  TO  BERLIN  2/ 

more.  It  was  a  perpetual  joy  to  him  to  design  his  works 
and  put  them  immediately  into  marble.  When  at  last  he 
left  Carrara,  he  chose  the  quickest  way,  by  the  mule- 
drivers'  route  over  Pontremoli.  He  enjoyed  the  scenery, 
and  hoped  to  see  it  again  with  friends  ;  but  now  he  hurried 
on,  not  stopping  even  at  Vienna,  although  the  Congress 
was  sitting  there,  and  Prince  Ludwig  was  very  desirous 
to  see  him.  He  was  anxious  to  be  in  Berlin  to  meet  the 
king  on  his  return  from  the  Congress. 


28  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    KAUCH 


CHAPTER  III 

QUEEN  LOUISE  OF  PRUSSIA 
Born  March  11,  1776.     Died  July  19,  1810 

THE  name  of  Rauch  is  so  indissolubly  connected  with 
that  of  Queen  Louise  of  Prussia,  not  only  by  his  country- 
men, but  by  all  Americans  who  visit  Berlin,  that  no  one 
interested  in  the  sculptor  can  fail  to  desire  more  knowl- 
edge of  the  heroic  queen,  the  gracious  and  beautiful 
woman  who  was  not  only  his  early  benefactress,  but  the 
inspiration  and  subject  of  his  most  beautiful,  if  not  his 
greatest  work.  Therefore,  before  giving  an  account  of 
this  justly  celebrated  statue,  I  propose  to  offer  a  sketch 
of  the  principal  events  in  the  life,  and  the  leading  traits 
in  the  character,  of  Queen  Louise  of  Prussia. 

We  should  be  obliged  to  go  far  back  into  the  history  of 
the  various  provinces  of  Germany  to  trace  out  fully  the 
heredity  of  this  princess,  for  she  united  in  her  ancestry 
the  leading  families  of  Sigismund  and  Hohenzollern. 

She  was  the  sixth  daughter  of  the  Prince,  subsequently 
Duke  and  Grand-Duke,  Karl  von  Mechlenburg-Strelitz. 

Her  mother  was  Princess  Frederika  Karoline  Louise 
von  Hesse  Darmstadt. 

Her  father  was  at  the  head  of  the  Hanoverian  army  of 
his  brother-in-law,  the  King  of  England,  and  furnished  to 
his  assistance  those  hated  Hessian  troops  whose  employ- 
ment our  fathers  resented  so  bitterly. 

An  early  portrait  of  the  mother  is  preserved,  in  which 
the  traits  of  the  daughter  may  be  traced. 


QUEEN    LOUISE    OF    PRUSSIA  29 

Her  great  ancestor,  the  Elector  Frederic  William,  who 
founded  the  kingdom  of  Prussia,  welcomed  the  Protes- 
tants, who  were  driven  out  by  the  edict  of  Nantes,  so  that 
Berlin  became  nearly  half  French.  The  elector  married 
Louise  of  Orange,  who  built  and  adorned  Oranienburg, 
one  of  the  favorite  residences  of  Queen  Louise. 

Louise,  the  third  surviving  daughter,  and  the  sixth 
child  of  the  family,  was  born  in  the  palace  in  the  Leine- 
strasse,  Hanover,  March  10,  1776.  She  was  baptized 
Louise  Augusta  Wilhelmina  Amelia. 

Three  years  younger  than  herself  was  a  brother,  who 
became  Rauch's  steadfast  friend,  George,  Duke  of  Mech- 
lenburg-Strelitz.  The  lovely  child  grew  up  in  a  sort  of 
earthly  paradise,  in  a  home  adorned  with  beautiful  gardens 
and  fountains,  statues  and  vases,  according  to  the  stately 
but  artificial  fashion  of  the  day.  Sorrow  soon  came  into 
her  Eden,  however,  for  she  lost  her  mother  when  only  six 
years  old.  She  was  devotedly  attached  to  her,  and  drooped 
so  much  from  her  sorrow,  that  she  was  sent  for  a  short 
visit  to  her  maternal  grandmother,  the  widowed  Princess 
of  Hesse  Darmstadt.  In  1784  her  father  married  the 
sister  of  his  wife,  the  Princess  Charlotte  Wilhelmine 
Christiane.  She  lived,  however,  only  a  short  time ;  and 
after  her  death  the  Duke  decided  to  leave  Hanover  and 
reside  at  Darmstadt. 

Here  the  young  girl  was  much  under  the  influence  of 
her  grandmother,  a  woman  of  remarkable  character  and 
ability. 

When  Louise  was  only  nine  years  old  she  first  met  the 
poet  Schiller,  who  came  to  Darmstadt  to  see  the  wife  of 
Goethe's  friend,  the  Duke  Karl  August  of  Weimar.  He 
read  the  first  act  of  Don  Carlos  to  the  princely  circle. 

The  young  princesses  at  this  time  lived  very  simple, 
healthful,  and  happy  lives.  We  are  told  that  they  were  in 
the  habit  of  making  their  own  silk  shoes. 

Louise  had  a  pretty  face  and  figure,  a  fair  complexion, 


30  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

with  a  soft  color  in  her  cheeks,  and  a  lovely  light  in  her 
open  blue  eyes. 

Her  first  governess  was  Fraulein  Agier,  who  was  dis- 
missed as  being  too  severe,  while  Mademoiselle  Gelieux 
gave  great  satisfaction,  and  helped  to  form  the  pleasing 
manners  of  the  princess. 

The  French  influence  was  very  strong  in  Louise's  life, 
and  French  was  always  her  familiar  speech  ;  but  this  fact 
did  not  overcome  her  patriotic  feeling,  and  she  is  often 
called  "The  German-hearted  Queen."  She  took  great 
pains,  in  later  years,  to  acquire  full  command  of  the  Ger- 
man language. 

Her  governess  sought  to  cultivate  her  heart  as  well  as 
her  head,  and  led  the  princess  to  seek  out  the  poor  and 
the  suffering,  to  sympathize  with  their  sorrows,  and  to 
comfort  their  distresses.  She  was  carefully  instructed  in 
the  Lutheran  faith,  to  which  she  always  remained  constant, 
and  was  warmly  attached  to  one  of  her  teachers,  the  Rev. 
Andreas  Frey.  A  little  anecdote  of  her  girlhood  shows 
how  early  she  learned  to  consider  others  before  herself. 
She  visited  Strasburg,  and  was  so  much  delighted  with 
the  noble  cathedral  that  she  wished  very  much  to  go  to 
the  top.  Her  governess  did  not  forbid  her  doing  so,  but 
said,  "  It  will  be  very  fatiguing  for  me  to  go  up,  but  I  can- 
not let  you  go  alone."  The  princess  yielded  to  the  feeling 
of  her  governess,  looked  wistfully  upward,  but  did  not 
ascend. 

When  Louise  was  fourteen  years  old  a  great  event 
occurred  at  Frankfort,  September  i,  1790.  She  was  pres- 
ent at  the  coronation  of  Emperor  Leopold  II.  The  part  of 
the  city  allotted  to  guests  from  Hannover  included  the 
street  called  the  Hirschgraben,  in  which  stood  the  house 
of  Frau  Rath  Goethe.  She  was  now  a  widow,  and  her 
only  son,  Johann  Wolfgang,  the  great  poet  of  his  country, 
was  naturally  the  joy  and  pride  of  her  heart.  It  was 
arranged  that  the  princesses  Louise  and  Frederika  should 


QUEEN    LOUISE    OF    PRUSSIA  31 

be  sent  to  her  house,  at  which  the  dear  old  lady  felt  highly 
honored.  The  young  people  enjoyed  their  stay  with  her 
very  much,  for  she  allowed  them  to  eat  salad  and  eggs  of 
her  cooking,  and  to  pump  water  in  the  yard  to  their  hearts' 
content,  preferring  to  incur  the  indignation  of  the  gov- 
erness, rather  than  deprive  them  of  girlish  pleasures. 
Here  Louise  also  probably  first  met  Von  Stein,  the  states- 
man who  afterwards  proved  a  true  friend.  It  was  while 
the  princesses  were  staying  in  Frankfort  that  their  brother 
made  the  call  on  Frau  von  Goethe,  thus  comically  described 
by  the  wild  Bettina  von  Arnim. 

She  writes  to  Goethe  in  her  quaint  English  :  — 
"  A  few  days  ago  I  went  in  the  evening,  and  the  maid 
admitted  me  with  the  remark  that  she  (Frau  Goethe)  was 
not  at  home,  but  must  come  directly.  In  the  parlor  it  was 
dark.  I  seated  myself  at  the  window,  and  looked  out 
over  the  square.  It  was  as  if  something  scratched.  I 
listened,  and  believed  I  heard  breathing  ;  I  became  uncom- 
fortable. I  again  heard  something  moving,  and  asked, 
'Jack,  is  that  you  ? ' 1  Quite  unexpectedly,  and  very  deject- 
ing for  my  courage,  a  sonorous  bass  voice  answered  out  of 
the  background,  'Jack  it  is  not,  but  John,'  and  therewith 
the  ' Ibique  mains  spiritus'  cleared  his  throat.  Full  of 
reverence,  I  would  not  from  the  spot :  the  spirit,  too,  only 
gave  proofs  of  its  existence  by  breathing  and  once  sneez- 
ing. Then  I  heard  your  mother ;  she  stepped  forward, 
the  scarcely  burning,  and  not  yet  fully  lighted  taper  behind, 
borne  by  Betty.  'Art  thou  there?'  asked  your  mother, 
as  she  took  off  her  cap  to  hang  it  on  its  nightly  pedestal ; 
viz,  a  blue  bottle.  '  Yes,'  we  both  called  out ;  and  out  of 
the  darkness  stepped  a  be-starred  gentleman,  and  asked, 
'  Frau  Rath,  shall  I  eat  bacon-salad  and  omelet  with  you 
this  evening  ? '  From  this  I  concluded,  quite  correctly, 
that_/i?/w  was  a  prince  of  Mechlenbtirg ;  for  who  has  not 
heard  the  pretty  story  of  your  mother  ;  how,  at  the  corona- 

1  Frau  Goethe  had  a  tame  squirrel  which  she  called  Jack. 


72  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

tion  of  the  emperor,  the  now  queen  of  Prussia,  then  a 
young  princess,  and  her  brother,  looked  at  Frau  Rath  as 
she  was  about  to  eat  such  a  dish,  and  that  it  so  excited 
their  appetites  that  they  together  demolished  it,  without 
leaving  her  a  leaf.  Now  the  story  was  told  with  much 
enjoyment,  and  many  another  beside  :  how  she  procured 
the  princesses  the  pleasure  of  pumping  to  satiety  at  the 
pump  in  the  courtyard,  keeping  the  governess,  by  all  pos- 
sible arguments,  from  calling  the  princesses  away  ;  and  at 
last,  because  she  would  not  listen  to  her,  used  force,  and 
locked  her  up  in  a  room.  '  For,'  said  your  mother,  '  I 
would  rather  have  drawn  upon  myself  the  worst  conse- 
quences than  that  they  should  have  been  disturbed  in 
their  innocent  pleasures,  which  were  granted  them  nowhere 
except  in  my  house  ;  they  said  to  me  too,  as  they  took 
leave,  that  they  should  never  forget  how  delighted  and 
happy  they  had  been  with  me.'  I  could  fill  several  sheets 
more  with  all  such  sorts  of  recollections." 

Jean  Paul  Richter  describes  a  visit  to  a  hunting  castle 
of  the  duke,  and  a  charming  wild  country  walk  with  the 
ladies  and  two  bright  children.  Louise  was  at  that  time 
sixteen.  She  was  like  her  sister  Charlotte,  and  had  the 
same  loving  blue  eyes,  but  the  expression  changed  more 
quickly  with  the  feeling  of  the  moment.  Her  soft  brown 
hair  still  retained  a  gleam  of  the  golden  tints  of  childhood, 
and  her  fair  transparent  complexion  was  in  the  bloom  of 
exquisite  beauty.  She  was  tall  and  slight,  and  graceful 
in  all  her  movements.  Jean  Paul  dedicated  his  Titan  to 
"  the  four  princesses  of  Mechlenburg." 

The  young  princesses  remained  a  while  with  their  grand- 
mother at  Hildburghausen.  The  home,  otherwise  so 
happy,  was,  however,  full  of  anxiety  on  account  of  the 
condition  of  the  country ;  for  Dumouriez  had  repulsed  the 
army  of  Brunswick,  and  the  French  emigrants  and  many 
of  their  own  relations  were  in  danger. 

A  temporary  cessation   of   hostilities    encouraged  the 


QUEEN    LOUISE    OF    PRUSSIA 


33 


grandmother  to  return  with  her  young  charges  to  Darm- 
stadt, and  she  was  invited  to  visit  the  Landgrave  of  Hesse, 
and  present  the  young  ladies  to  the  King  of  Prussia  and 
his  sons.  It  proved  a  memorable  day.  The  crown  prince 
and  his  brother  were  captivated  by  the  princesses  of 
Mechlenburg,  and  the  king  invited  the  elder  princess  and 
her  granddaughters  to  sup  with  him. 

The  feeling  aroused  in  the  crown  prince  was  as  deep  as 
it  was  sudden.  After  the  queen's  death,  he  said  to  Bishop 
Eylert,  "  I  felt,  when  I  first  saw  her,  '  'Tis  she  or  none  on 
earth.'  That  expression  is  somewhere  in  Schiller,  I  for- 
get where,  but  it  exactly  describes  the  emotions  which 
sprang  up  in  my  heart  at  that  moment."  l 

Louise  had  seen  a  very  attractive  picture  of  the  crown 
prince,  and  of  course  had  heard  much  of  him.  He'was 
then  in  his  twenty-third  year.  He  was  well-proportioned, 
tall  and  slight,  and  his  bearing  erect  and  soldier-like.  In 
youth  he  showed  a  fine  character,  of  a  decided  stamp,  and 
Frederic  the  Great  said  of  him,  "  //  me  recommencera." 
He  was  a  favorite  with  his  uncle,  and  the  young  man 
never  forgot  the  parting  interview  in  which  the  dying 
king  foretold  the  troubles  that  were  coming  on  his  coun- 
try, and  exhorted  the  young  prince  to  stand  fast  by  the 
"  True  and  the  Right." 

The  attachment  which  had  sprung  up  between  the 
Crown  Prince  of  Prussia  and  the  Princess  Louise,  and 
between  his  brother  and  her  hardly  less  beautiful  sister, 
grew  and  ripened,  and  fortunately  met  with  no  opposition 
from  the  king.  It  was  a  case  of  true  love  running 
smooth,  even  rarer  among  crowned  hearts  than  in  humble 
life. 

The  double  betrothal  was  brilliantly  celebrated  April 

24,  1793- 

The  princes  returned  at  once  to  their  military  duties. 

1  "  Und  klar  auf  einmal  fiihlt's  ich  in  mir  werden, 

Die  ist  es,  oder  keine  sonst  auf  Erden."  —  Brant  von  Messina. 


34 


LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 


The  crown  prince  rejoined  his  regiment  before  Mayence, 
and,  the  Prussian  headquarters  being  then  at  Bodenheim, 
the  king  invited  the  young  brides  to  dine  with  him,  and 
took  them  to  visit  the  camp  before  Mayence.  Darmstadt 
was  within  an  easy  ride  of  the  camp,  and  the  young  sol- 
diers could  often  have  a  vacation,  which  was  sometimes 
made  delightful  by  a  quiet  picnic  in  the  woods  at  Gross 
Gerau.  Goethe,  then  in  his  forty-fifth  year,  was  with  the 
troops,  and  he  wrote  in  his  diary  of  May  29,  1793, 
"  Towards  evening  a  lovely  spectacle  was  offered  to  me. 
The  princesses  of  Mechlenburg  had  dined  with  His  Maj- 
esty the  King  at  headquarters  in  Bodenheim,  and  after- 
wards visited  the  camp.  I  fastened  myself  into  my  tent, 
and  so  could  narrowly  observe  the  noble  company,  who 
walked  up  and  down  at  ease  directly  before  it.  And 
truly,  amid  this  tumult  of  war,  one  could  take  those  two 
young  ladies  for  heavenly  apparitions,  whose  impression 
upon  me  has  never  been  effaced." 

On  the  eighth  of  November,  1793,  the  King  of  Prussia 
returned  to  Berlin,  and  a  month  later  called  his  sons  from 
the  field,  that  they  might  prepare  for  their  weddings. 
During  the  absence  of  the  crown  prince,  his  palace  had 
been  prepared  for  the  reception  of  the  bride.  The  Prince 
of  Mecklenburg  left  Darmstadt  with  his  daughters  and 
their  grandmother  December  15.  They  were  just  a  week 
on  the  journey  to  Potsdam,  where  great  preparations  had 
been  made  to  receive  them. 

Among  the  various  decorations  of  welcome  that  greeted 
the  bride,  as  she  passed  "  imter  den  Linden  "  to  her  home, 
the  most  touching  was  that  of  the  descendants  of  the 
French  Protestant  Emigres,  who  greeted  her  in  their  own 
language.  One  of  the  little  girls  came  forward,  and  spoke 
and  looked  so  prettily,  that  the  princess,  on  the  impulse  of 
the  moment,  stooped  and  kissed  her  as  she  took  the  flow- 
ers from  her  hand. 

"  Mein  Gott ! "  exclaimed  the  master  of  ceremonies, 
"  what  have  you  done  ?  " 


QUEEN    LOUISE    OF    PRUSSIA  35 

"  What  !  "  exclaimed  the  astonished  princess,  "  is  that 
wrong  ?  May  I  never  do  that  again  ?  " 

This  natural  feeling  won  all  hearts.  "  She  will  not  only 
be  our  queen,"  said  the  people,  "  but  our  mother." 

A  characteristic  story  is  told  of  the  old  king.  He  was 
dissatisfied  that  the  invitations  to  the  festivities  had  been 
mostly  given  to  the  nobility,  and  he  said  that  he  wanted 
to  see  some  burghers'  wedding-suits.  So  the  next  day  he 
ordered  that  no  cards  should  be  given  out,  but  that  every- 
body who  had  a  whole  coat  should  be  admitted.  Con- 
sequently, there  was  such  a  pressure  that  the  somewhat 
corpulent  king  could  not  get  through  the  crowd  without 
turning  sideways,  which  he  did,  calling  out  at  the  same 
time,  "  Never  mind,  my  friends.  To-day  the  wedding 
father  is  no  bigger  than  the  bridal  couple."  On  this  jour- 
ney, the  grace  with  which  Louise  received  all  attentions, 
and  the  charm  of  her  manners,  laid  the  foundation  of  that 
love  and  respect  which  she  never  lost. 

The  wedding  took  place  on  Christmas  evening,  1793. 
About  six  o'clock  the  family  assembled  in  the  apartments 
of  the  queen,  where  the  diamond  crown  of  the  Hohenzol- 
lerns  was  placed  on  the  head  of  Louise.  Never  did  it  rest 
upon  one  more  worthy  ! 

The  princely  couple  were  wedded  in  the  grand  saloon, 
according  to  the  ceremonies  of  the  Lutheran  Church. 
The  people  wished  to  illuminate  the  city,  but  the  prince 
begged  them  instead  to  give  the  money  to  the  widows  and 
orphans  of  the  soldiers.  It  is  delightful  to  record  the 
simple  home-life  of  this  happy  pair,  in  striking  contrast  to 
the  European  courts  of  that  period,  and  even  to  that  of 
the  reigning  king,  whose  licentiousness  was  notorious. 
He  was  much  pleased  with  his  new  daughter,  and  was 
uniformly  kind  to  her.  On  her  birthday  he  presented  to 
her  the  palace  of  Oranienburg,  which  became  one  of  her 
favorite  residences,  and  then  asked  her  if  she  had  any 
wish  ungratified.  She  replied  that  she  was  so  happy  her- 


36  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

self  that  she  would  like  to  make  others  so,  and  wished  for 
a  handful  of'  gold  to  give  to  the  poor.  "  And  how  large  a 
handful  would  the  birthday  child  like  to  have  ?  "  asked 
the  king.  "  As  large  as  the  heart  of  the  kindest  of  kings," 
answered  Louise. 

Both  the  prince  and  princess  disliked  the  formal  eti- 
quette of  the  court  to  which  they  were  obliged  to  sub- 
mit, and  the  prince  used  to  say  that  when  his  wife  laid 
aside  her  jewels  she  was  a  pearl  restored  to  her  pristine 
purity.  One  day,  taking  hold  of  both  her  hands,  and 
looking  into  her  blue  eyes,  he  said,  "  Thank  God  you  are 
my  wife  once  more  ! "  —  "  Am  I  not  always  your  wife  ?  " 
she  replied.  "  Alas  !  no ;  you  must  often  be  only  the 
crown  princess."  They  read  and  studied  a  great  deal 
together ;  and  she  delighted  in  the  works  of  the  great 
living  authors,  Schiller,  Goethe,  and  Schlegel. 

Contrary  to  royal  etiquette,  they  used  the  tender  "  Du  " 
in  addressing  each  other,  which  the  prince  justified  by 
saying,  "  You  know  what  you  mean  by  '  Du,'  but  when 
you  say  'Sie '  you  have  to  think  whether  it  is  a  big  S  or  a 
little  one."  The  good  Voss,  the  well-beloved  "  Oberhof- 
meisterinn,"  was  shocked  at  this  familiarity,  but  the 
prince  playfully  thwarted  the  rules  of  the  "  Dame  d' Eti- 
quette," as  he  nicknamed  her. 

The  crown  princess  lost  her  first  child  in  consequence 
of  a  fright,  but  on  October  15,  1795,  she  gave  birth  to  a 
son,  who  was,  with  much  ceremony  and  many  sponsors, 
christened  Friedrich  Wilhelm.  He  became  Friedrich 
Wilhelm  IV.  of  Prussia,  and  reigned  until  1861. 

Finding  the  palace  of  Oranienburg  too  stately  and 
grand,  the  prince  bought  a  very  simple  residence  at 
Paretz,  where  Louise  loved  to  live  in  quiet  enjoyment  with 
her  family.  She  maintained  the  most  affectionate  inter- 
course with  her  sister.  Schadow  made  a  marble  group  of 
the  two  beautiful  women,  which  is  now  in  the  Hohenzol- 
lern  Museum.  Louise  happened  to  have  a  swelling  in  her 


QUEEN    LOUISE    OF    PRUSSIA  37 

throat,  and  Schadow  wound  a  scarf  so  gracefully  around 
her  head  and  throat  to  conceal  it,  that  the  ladies  of  Berlin 
adopted  the  fashion.  Louise  sympathized  deeply  with 
her  sister  on  the  death  of  her  husband,  Prince  Louis,  who 
was  a  great  loss  both  to  her  and  his  brother.  She  took 
her  widowed  sister  to  her  own  home,  and  gave  her  every 
protection  and  comfort. 

The  second  son  was  born  March  22.  He  became  the 
King  of  Prussia  and  the  Emperor  of  Germany,  who  was 
so  well  known  to  us  by  his  long  and  prosperous  reign. 

Soon  after  the  queen-mother  died,  and  the  king  fell  into 
a  miserable  illness,  which  was  a  severe  trial  to  his  daugh- 
ter, on  account  of  the  wretched  state  of  his  mind.  He 
had  been  very  kind  to  her,  and  yet  she  could  not  be 
blind  to  his  faults.  He  died  November  16,  1797.  His 
reign  was  neither  honorable  to  himself  nor  fortunate  for 
Prussia,  although  he  had  many  popular  qualities,  which 
won  affection  from  his  subjects. 

Louise's  husband,  who  was  proclaimed  as  King  Wil- 
liam III.,  succeeded  to  no  throne  of  ease.  The  nation 
was  demoralized  by  bad  government,  by  war  and  defeat, 
and  by  licentiousness  in  the  court.  Frederic  the  Great 
had  left  a  large  sum  in  the  treasury,  all  of  which  Friedrich 
Wilhelm  II.  had  spent,  and  added  a  large  debt,  which 
rested  heavily  on  the  young  king.  The  young  couple  at 
once  recognized  the  duty  of  restoring  the  treasury  of  the 
kingdom,  and  resolved  still  to  live  on  the  revenues  of  the 
crown  prince. 

It  would  lead  me  too  far  if  I  were  to  enter  into  the 
political  difficulties  that  beset  the  king.  According  to  the 
testimony  of  Von  Stein,  he  was  to  be  honored  for  his 
sincere  moral  and  religious  principles.  He  was  devoted 
to  his  country,  and  he  felt  the  responsibility  of  his  posi- 
tion. His  uprightness,  warm  affection,  and  benevolence, 
are  shown  in  his  relations  with  Rauch,  as  well  as  in  his 


38  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

devotion  to  his  wife ;  but  he  did  not  possess  the  powers 
of  mind  and  the  firmness  of  will  to  guide  Prussia  steadily 
amid  the  perils  of  the  time.  Germany  always  blames  him 
that  he  did  not  at  once  join  her  other  princes  in  withstand- 
ing the  encroachments  of  Napoleon,  instead  of  trying  to 
maintain  a  neutral  ground.  He  did  not  love  war,  although 
his  record  as  a  soldier  was  honorable;  and  he  desired  to 
keep  peace,  in  the  hope  of  bringing  back  industrial 
prosperity. 

Louise  willingly  entered  into  all 'his  plans  of  economy 
and  reform,  but  her  sympathies  were  with  the  patriotic 
party;  and  she  rejoiced  when  at  last  her  husband  joined 
the  league  against  Napoleon.  The  time  was  not  well 
chosen,  and,  the  king  being  ill  represented  by  his  ambas- 
sador, his  conduct  appeared  vacillating  and  unworthy. 

The  resolution  of  the  king  to  live  on  the  revenues  of 
the  crown  prince  until  his  predecessor's  debts  were  paid, 
caused  the  royal  couple  to  continue  to  live  the  simple  life 
which  both  enjoyed.  They  entered  into  all  the  pleasures 
of  the  Christmas-tree,  and  often  walked  unattended  "  nntcr 
den  Linden."  Old  men  remembered  the  charm  of  voice 
and  manner  with  which  the  queen  had  spoken  to  them  as 
boys,  when  they  ran  carelessly  against  her  in  their  boyish 
sports.  The  Berlin  ladies  wore  miniatures  of  the  king  and 
queen  as  ornaments  ;  and  every  publisher  wished  to  repro- 
duce their  likenesses. 

Louise's  first  joy  in  becoming  queen  was  that  now  she 
could  dispense  her  benefits  more  freely  ;  but  her  charity 
brought  her  into  pecuniary  difficulties.  Her  allowance  of 
a  thousand  ducats  a  month  had  not  been  increased  when 
she  became  queen.  She  found  it  impossible  to  meet  the 
many  demands  upon  her,  and  she  consulted  the  privy 
councillor,  asking  him  to  represent  the  matter  to  the  king. 
When  it  was  suggested  that  she  would  impoverish  herself 
by  her  charities,  she  replied  that  with  her  best  friend,  the 
father  of  the  land,  she  must  be  its  mother  also.  "  I  must 


QUEEN    LOUISE    OF    PRUSSIA 


39 


help  wherever  there  is  need."  A  few  days  after  she  found 
a  drawer  of  her  desk  refilled  with  money,  and  she  asked 
the  king  what  angel  had  put  it  there  ?  "  The  angel  is 
Legion,"  answered  the  king,  smiling,  "and  I  know  only 
one;  but  you  know  the  beautiful  saying,  "He  gives  to  his 
friends  while  they  sleep." 

When  the  king  and  queen  made  a  tour  through  Prussia 
the  next  summer,  Louise  won  all  hearts  by  her  constant 
consideration  for  others'  feelings.  To  her  surprise,  the 
inhabitants  of  the  lately  conquered  Warsaw  hastened  to 
testify  their  allegiance  and  express  their  affection.  The 
amber  workers  of  Dantzic  presented  the  queen  with  a 
beautiful  necklace,  and  she  wore  it  all  the  time  of  her 
stay. 

When  her  carriage  was  overturned  by  the  carelessness 
of  a  coachman,  she  softened  the  rebukes  of  her  friends, 
saying,  "The  accident  has  frightened  the  people  more 
than  ourselves." 

The  queen's  love  of  simplicity  was  shown  in  her  dress. 
She  never  appeared  in  splendid  costume,  except  when  the 
dignity  of  the  state  required  it.  A  lady  of  the  period 
writes,  "  I  never  saw  her  dressed  otherwise  than  in  light 
muslin,  with  her  beautiful  light  curled  hair  simply  adorned." 
When  entering  a  town  one  day,  nineteen  children  met  her, 
strewing  flowers.  One  of  them  carelessly  said,  "The 
twentieth  was  left  behind,  she  was  so  ugly."  The  queen 
immediately  begged  that  she  be  sent  for,  and  allowed  to 
join  her  companions.  The  miners  at  Waldenburg  spoke 
of  her  twenty  years  afterwards  with  enthusiasm,  and  one 
steersman  showed  the  two  ducats  she  had  given  him, 
which  his  wife  had  set  for  a  necklace. 

At  Weimar  she  met  Herder,  whose  poetry  she  admired. 
Her  daughter,  Frederika  Louise  Charlotte,  was  born  July 
13,  1798.  This  princess  married  the  late  Emperor  Nicho- 
las of  Russia,  and  died  in  1861. 

The  royal  pair  enjoyed  with  their  children  the  country 


4O  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

life  at  Paretz,  where  they  laid  aside  their  grandeur  and 
dined  at  harvest  time  with  the  farmers'  sons  and  daughters. 
The  queen  gratified  them  by  wearing  her  court  dress, 
which  they  considered  a  mark  of  respect.  She  always 
sought  out  the  neglected  ones  for  her  favors.  Being 
asked  if  she  did  not  find  it  dull  at  Paretz,  she  made  the 
characteristic  answer,  "  I  find  it  very  pleasant  to  be  the 
Lady  Bountiful  at  Paretz."  Brought  up  in  aristocratic 
circles,  she  did  not  question  her  position,  but  had  learned 
from  the  new  tendencies  of  the  time,  respect  and  sympathy 
for  all  classes.  The  king  was  silent  and  grave,  the  queen 
light-hearted  and  full  of  vivacity.  She  was  more  French 
than  German,  loyal  as  she  was  to  her  country  and  people. 
Her  intellect  was  clear  and  well-trained,  and  she  was  far- 
sighted,  and  full  of  deep  thought  as  well  as  generous 
feeling. 

She  often  gave  way  to  an  affectionate  impulse,  and 
would  take  an  ornament  from  her  own  person  and  bestow 
it  on  one  with  whom  she  had  had  a  pleasant  conversation. 
Goethe's  mother  long  kept  a  necklace  which  Louise  had 
given  her  in  remembrance  of  such  an  hour.  It  was  said 
of  her  that  she  was  as  pleasing  to  her  own  sex  as  to  the 
other.  She  was  fond  of  dancing  and  social  enjoyment, 
but,  happy  in  her  married  life,  does  not  seem  to  have 
had  a  trace  of  coquetry  in  her  nature.  She  received 
many  of  the  celebrated  poets,  and  gave  them  discriminat- 
ing praise,  and  often  a  precious  gift  of  remembrance. 
She  was  so  thoughtful  of  others,  even  in  trifles,  that  she 
bade  the  old  councillor  of  war  come  to  her  in  boots,  and 
not  appear  in  stockings,  which  she  feels  sure  is  not  good 
for  him. 

She  carefully  abstained  from  interfering  with  politics. 
The  king  was  sensitive  as  to  his  prerogative,  and  if  she 
was  asked  to  prefer  a  request  to  him,  she  would  answer, 
"  There  is  no  need  to  take  indirect  means  with  him  to  gain 
what  is  just  and  right."  The  centenary  of  the  kingdom  of 


QUEEN    LOUISE    OF    PRUSSIA  4! 

Prussia  was  celebrated  in  1801,  and  at  this  time  Louise 
made  the  acquaintance  of  the  Princess  of  Mechlenburo- 
Schwerin,  by  birth  a  Russian,  which  ripened  into  a  warm 
friendship,  and  did  much  to  promote  good  feeling  between 
the  royal  families  of  Russia  and  Prussia. 

The  queen  took  a  deep  interest  in  the  education  of  her 
children,  striving  to  put  it  on  a  more  thorough  basis  than 
the  fashionable  habits  of  the  time.  Her  religious  feeling 
was  simple  and  beautiful,  and  in  her  attendance  at  church 
she  set  aside  as  much  as  possible  all  distinctions  of  rank. 
She  was  very  much  grieved  when  the  "  Oberhofmeisterinn" 
once  severely  rebuked  a  respectable  woman  who  by  mis- 
take entered  the  royal  pew.  She  always  attended  the  old 
Lutheran  Dom-kirche,  which  is  remarkable  for  its  plain- 
ness. Her  son,  the  old  emperor,  would  not  allow  it  to  be 
altered  or  removed,  but  the  present  emperor  is  about  to 
erect  a  new  and  handsome  edifice  in  its  place. 

But  while  the  domestic  life  of  the  royal  pair  was  thus 
happy,  and  their  relation  to  their  subjects  trustful  and 
affectionate,  the  affairs  of  the  kingdom  were  fast  getting 
into  a  state  of  confusion  and  danger.  Friedrich  Wilhelm 
III.  was  one  of  those  men  unfortunately  set  in  a  place 
too  large  for  him.  He  tried  to  maintain  neutrality  when 
all  Europe  was  in  collision,  and  safety  lay  only  in  a  strong 
position  strongly  held.  The  queen  is  said  to  have  sympa- 
thized heartily  with  the  patriotic  party,  who  urged  him  to 
draw  the  sword  ;  and  undoubtedly  Napoleon  was  correct 
in  ascribing  to  her  a  great  influence  in  the  country. 
Finally,  when  the  open  violation  of  neutrality  in  the 
campaign  of  1805  forced  the  king  into  more  active  meas- 
ures, to  the  delight  of  the  queen,  he  joined  hands  with 
Alexander  of  Russia  in  a  league  against  Napoleon.  This 
league  was  pledged  in  a  somewhat  melodramatic  manner. 
When  the  king  and  the  czar  visited  the  tomb  of  Frederic 
the  Great  at  midnight,  the  czar  kissed  the  coffin  of  the 


42  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

great  Frederic,  and  struck  hands  with  his  successor 
across  it.  Napoleon  laughed  at  this  alliance  a  year  later, 
but  it  bore  fruit  in  the  end. 

It  is  said  that  on  her  oldest  son's  birthday,  in  1805,  when 
he  first  received  his  hat  and  sword  from  his  father's  hand, 
and  put  on  his  uniform,  the  queen  said,  "  I  hope,  my  son, 
that  on  the  day  when  you  first  put  on  this  coat,  your  first 
thought  will  be  to  avenge  your  unfortunate  brothers." 

The  king  had  the  great  misfortune  to  have  bad  council- 
lors when  he  most  needed  brave  ones,  and  "  he  trusted  the 
cowardly  Haugwitz  with  the  important  mission  of  convey- 
ing his  decision  of  peace  or  war  to  Napoleon."  This 
weak  diplomatist  put  off  the  execution  of  his  task  until 
after  the  battle  of  Austerlitz,  and  then  entered  into 
negotiations  with  the  conqueror,  instead  of  making  a 
declaration  of  war.  No  wonder  that  the  proud  emperor 
was  not  conciliated,  but  made  new  and  humiliating  demands 
upon  Prussia !  When  the  king  at  last  decided  upon  war, 
it  was  under  the  most  unfavorable  circumstances.  Napo- 
leon longed  to  crush  Prussia  at  a  blow ;  and  the  day  of 
misfortunes,  the  double  battle  of  Jena  and  Austerlitz, 
enabled  him  to  enter  Berlin  as  conqueror  October  14, 
1806. 

At  this  time  the  queen's  health  was  much  broken  by 
grief  for  the  death  of  her  youngest  son,  Prince  Ferdinand, 
as  well  a;s  by  her  terrible  anxiety  for  the  country.  She 
was  advised  to  go  to  the  baths  of  Pyrmont,  where  she 
enjoyed  the  society  of  her  father  and  brother,  and  the 
Princess  Marie  of  Russia.  Schadow  made  a  statue  of 
the  little  year-old  prince,  which  is  now  at  Charlottenburg. 
Although  it  is  denied  that  the  queen  had  any  part  in 
directly  bringing  on  the  war,  she  took  a  deep  interest  in 
it,  and  was  officially  recognized  as  belonging  to  the  army. 
The  "  Anspach  Baireuthschen  Dragooner  Regiment  "  re- 
ceived through  a  cabinet  order  the  name  of  the  "  Dragoon 
Regiment  of  the  Queen."  She  rode  beside  the  king,  wear- 


QUEEN    LOUISE    OF    PRUSSIA  43 

ing  a  spencer  of  the  regimental  colors,  which  is  still 
preserved  as  a  relic  by  the  troops. 

Napoleon  is  said  to  have  allowed  most  bitter  and 
scandalous  things  to  be-  said  of  her  in  the  public  prints, 
which  only  endeared  her  all  the  more  to  the  people.  The 
distinguished  Viennese  Ambassador,  Gentz,  expressed  him- 
self as  much  astonished  at  the  intelligence  and  strength 
of  judgment  which  she  showed  in  regard  to  the  political 
situation,  as  well  as  at  her  courage  in  looking  clearly  at 
the  dangers  around  them,  and  the  deep  feeling  she  showed 
for  the  Austrian  family  and  all  the  victims  of  the  war. 
She  was  actually  travelling  in  full  march  towards  the 
enemy,  who  could  be  distinctly  seen,  when  the  Duke  of 
Brunswick  insisted  on  her  return  to  Weimar,  and  gave 
her  a  squadron  to  escort  her.  An  attempt  is  said  to  have 
been  made  to  capture  her,  at  whose  failure  Napoleon 
expressed  great  regret.  As  the  army  cheered  her  on  her 
departure,  already  the  terrible  cannon  of  Jena  were  sound- 
ing. She  left  Weimar  on  the  thirteenth  of  October,  and 
had  a  hard  journey  over  mountain-passes,  while  her  heart 
was  racked  with  anxiety.  They  had  no  means  of  getting 
correct  intelligence.  "  I  journey  on  between  the  moun- 
tains of  hope  and  the  abysses  of  despair,"  she  said. 

When  she  drove  into  Brunswick  on  the  fifteenth,  her 
nerves  were  so  shattered  that  she  could  not  give  a  clear 
description  of  what  had  occurred.  On  the  fourth  day, 
when  she  reached  Brandenburg,  she  met  a  courier  sent  by 
General  von  Kleist,  who  gave  her  the  full  disastrous 
intelligence,  "  All  is  lost !  The  French  are  rapidly  ad- 
vancing !  You  must  flee  with  your  children  ;  the  whole 
kingdom  is  in  danger."  She  reached  Berlin  that  evening, 
and  found  that  her  children  had  already  been  sent  to 
Schweldt  on  the  Oder. 

Her  physician,  Hufeland,  accompanied  her  to  Schweldt, 
where  she  found  her  children  safe  and  well  ;  but  she  was 
terribly  moved  on  meeting  them.  She  soon  after  joined 


44         i  LIFE    OF, CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

the  king  at  Custrin.  He  and  his  brothers  were  all 
wounded.  The  queen  suffered  many  serious  privations 
on  this  journey,  but  they  were  nothing  in  comparison 
with  the  anxiety  she  endured.  In  one  of  her  own  note- 
books she  wrote  Goethe's  words,  - 

"  Wer  nie  sein  Brot  mit  Thranen  ass, 

Wer  nie  die  kummervollen  Nachte 
Auf  seinem  Bette  weinend  sass 
Der  kennt  euch  nicht,  ihr  himmlische  Machte!  " 

She  remained  true  to  herself  through  all  these  troubles, 
and  the  sympathy  of  the  people  was  ever  dear  to  her. 
When  she  accompanied  her  husband  on  a  tour  of  inspec- 
tion of  the  walls  of  Custrin,  and  the  commandant  watched 
her  as  with  bowed  head  she  walked  on  in  deep  and  anx- 
ious conversation,  he  pledged  his  faith  that  he  would 
defend  the  walls  to  the  last  extremity. 

The  situation  was  indeed  appalling.  Magdeburg  had 
surrendered  to  the  enemy,  and  every  Prussian  fortress 
between  the  Weser  and  the  Oder  was  in  his  power.  The 
excitement  caused  by  reports  of  slanders  against  her, 
said  to  have  been 'purposely  circulated  by  Napoleon,  com- 
bined with  the  fatigue  of  her  journey,  and  her  distress  of 
mind,  brought  on  a  nervous  fever,  from  which  she  was  in 
imminent  danger  for  two  weeks.  Scarcely  recovered,  she 
continued  her  flight  from  the  conquering  army,  even  to 
Memel,  on  the  eastern  boundary  of  the  kingdom.  The 
low,  flat  isthmus  on  which  Memel  lies  is  most  unattract- 
ive, according  to  her  Hofmeisterin's  description  :  "  We 
spent  three  days  and  nights  on  the  journey,  our  road 
partly  covered  by  the  stormy  waves  of  the  ocean,  partly 
by  the  ice.  The  nights  were  passed  in  the  most  wretched 
quarters.  The  first  night,  without  nourishing  food,  the 
queen  lay  in  a  room  whose  windows  were  broken,  and 
where  the  snow  blew  upon  her  bed." 

In  the  New  Museum  at  Berlin  is  a  beautiful  picture 
representing  the  arrival  of  the  queen  at  Memel.  The 


QUEEN    LOUISE    OF    PRUSSIA  45 

young  queen  and  her  devoted  attendant  have  left  their 
poor  carriage  and  are  seeking  refuge  from  the  snow 
in  the  miserable  house  which  could  alone  give  them 
shelter.  The  beauty  of  the  queen  is  somewhat  concealed 
by  the  very  unpicturesque  bonnet  which  she  wears,  but 
the  old  Hofmeisterin  is  a  very  interesting  figure.  The 
features  resemble  closely  the  actual  portraits  of  her, 
while  the  expression  and  action  express  courage  and 
endurance  and  devoted  attachment  to  her  mistress  in 
her  fallen  fortunes. 

The  king  soon  joined  the  family  at  Memel,  and  the 
military  situation  became  somewhat  improved  by  the  union 
of  the  Prussian  and  Russian  armies,  while  the  French 
experienced  some  severe  reverses.  Louise  was  cheered 
by  accounts  of  the  heroic  deeds  of  Prussian  officers;  but 
the  hopes  thus  raised  were  not  soon  realized. 

The  greatest  trial  of  the  queen's  fortitude  came  from 
the  calumnies  of  her  enemies.  She  severely  scrutinized 
her  conduct,  to  see  if  she  had  given  any  occasion  for 
them,  and  even  wondered  if  she  had  been  wrongly  con- 
tending against  fate  in  opposing  the  French.  The  visit 
of  the  Emperor  of  Russia,  and  his  promises  of  firm  alli- 
ance, gave  her  much  comfort.  It  is  said  that  Prussia 
might  have  made  favorable  terms  with  Napoleon  at  this 
time,  if  the  king  would  have  given  up  the  Russian 
alliance. 

From  April  12  until  the  first  of  June,  1807,  the  queen 
remained  at  Konigsberg  with  her  sister  Frederika,  the 
Princess  of  Solms.  She  lived  a  very  quiet,  earnest  life 
here,  with  no  entertainments,  devoting  herself  to  the 
comfort  of  those  about  her,  and  to  earnest  study  and 
thought.  During  this  residence  she  became  intimately 
acquainted  with  the  court  preacher,  Bishop  Borowsky,  and 
with  Scheffner,  and  other  disciples  of  Kant,  and  her  mind 
was  full  of  great  questions.  The  old  Scheffner  writes, 
"  I  have  seen  in  no  woman's  face  a  freer,  purer  look,  a 


46  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

more  joyful,  almost  childish  frankness."  Among  the  circle 
around  her  tea-table  was  often  the  celebrated  General 
Bliicher,  of  whom  Ranch  made  one  of  his  greatest  por- 
trait statues,  the  "Marshal  Forwards,"  as  he  was  popu- 
larly called.  All  the  company  engaged  in  pulling  lint  for 
the  hospitals ;  but  the  general  tucked  his  bit  of  lint  into 
the  sheath  of  his  sword,  while  he  told  stories  of  his 
battles,  until  the  queen  detected  him,  and  laughingly 
reproved  him,  and  at  his  request  allowed  him  to  take  his 
stint  home  to  be  finished. 

She  returned  to  Memel  early  in  June,,  where  she  was 
received  by  the  people  as  a  mother.1  She  soon  after- 
wards learned  of  the  battle  of  Friedland,  and  the  establish- 
ment of  the  head-quarters  of  Napoleon  at  Tilsit.  But  the 
keenest  blow  of  all  was  the  intelligence  that  the  Emperor 
Alexander  had  formed  a  separate  truce  with  Napoleon, 
leaving  Prussia  and  her  king  at  his  mercy.  Yet  in  a 
noble  letter  to  her  father,  written  June  17,  she  shows  the 
courage  of  her  heart,  and  the  religious  foundation  on  which 
it  is  based.  She  is  firm  in  her  conviction  that  they  have 
acted  with  honor.  "  Only  wrong  on  our  part  would  bring 
me  to  the  grave.  That  will  never  take  place,  for  we  stand 
too  high." 

The  truce  between  Russia  and  France  came  tp  an  end 
June  21,  1807,  that  with  Prussia  four  days  later.  Alexan- 
der met  Napoleon  at  Tilsit,  and  the  two  emperors  entered 
into  alliance.  The  city  was  declared  neutral,  and  each  of 
the  three  monarchs  rfed  his  own  guards. 

And  now  we  come  to  the  most  trying  event  in  Louise's 
life,  and  the  one  by  which  she  is  most  generally  known,  — 
her  interviews  with  Napoleon,  and  her  effort  to  procure 
from  him  more  favorable  terms  for  Prussia,  in  the  peace 
for  which  the  Emperor  Alexander  was  negotiating.  Ap- 

1  A  German  friend  has  given  me  an  interesting  account  of  a  family  who  received 
the  queen  into  their  home  in  Memel,  when  she  was  in  the  greatest  distress.  One  of 
the  sons  of  this  family  has  lately  come  to  Boston  to  pursue  his  art  of  designing  in 
terra-cotta.  He  is  now  engaged  on  sculpture  for  the  exposition  at  Chicago. 


QUEEN    LOUISE    OF    PRUSSIA 


47 


patently  much  romance  has  gathered  about  these  inter- 
views, and  it  is  necessary  to  read  the  accounts  with  the 
remembrance  of  the  characters  of  the  actors,  and  the  pre- 
judices of  the  narrators,  to  understand  fully  the  spirit  of 
all  parties. 

It  is  said  that  Napoleon  had  treated  the  king,  whose 
amiable  but  vacillating  character  did  not  command  his 
respect,  with  studied  indifference.  When  Louise's  hus- 
band sent  for  her  to  come  to  Tilsit,  to  try  with  her  wom- 
anly tact  to  obtain  better  terms  from  Bonaparte,  she  was 
almost  beside  herself  with  grief.  In  her  diary  she  says, 
"God  knows  what  a  struggle  it  cost  me;  for  although  I  do 
not  hate  the  man,  yet  I  look  upon  him  as  one  who  has 
made  the  king  and  his  land  wretched.  I  admire  his  talents, 
but  I  do  not  like  his  character,  which  is  obviously  treach- 
erous and  false.  It  will  be  hard  for  me  to  be  polite  and 
courteous  to  him  ;  but  just  this  hard  thing  is  required  of 
me.  I  am  accustomed  to  make  sacrifices." 

She  took  careful  instructions  in  regard  to  the  impend- 
ing questions  from  the  minister  Hardenberg,  whose  dis- 
missal Napoleon  had  just  obtained. 

Under  the  escort  of  French  dragoons,  on  the  afternoon 
of  the  eighth  of  July,  1807,  Louise  reached  the  dwelling 
of  the  king  at  Tilsit.  A  quarter  of  an  hour  later  Napoleon 
drove  up  to  the  house,  where  he  was  received  by  the 
Oberhofmeisterin  von  Voss  and  the  Countess  Tauentzein. 
He  was  very  polite,  talked  a  long  time  with  the  queen, 
and  then  drove  away.  At  the  dinner  at  eight  o'clock, 
which  early  hour  he  had  appointed  out  of  consideration 
for  the  queen,  he  was  in  good  humor,  and  talked  much 
with  her.  She  returned  in  good  spirits,  sanguinely  believ- 
ing that  she  had  attained  her  purpose,  and  would  obtain 
favorable  conditions  of  peace. 

One  of  the  answers  she  is  reported  to  have  given  was  to 
his  question,  "  But  how  could  you  ever  begin  war  with 
me  ?  "  —  "  Sire,  even  if  we  had  been  imposed  on  in  other 


48  LIFE   OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

respects,  could  the  glory  of  Frederic  the  Great  deceive  us 
in  regard  to  our  powers  ?  " 

Another  account  says  that  "  she  made  a  most  favorable 
impression  upon  Napoleon,  and  pleaded  eloquently  for 
Prussia  and  her  husband,  and  finally,  even  with  tears,  for 
the  restoration  of  Magdeburg.  The  emperor  was  moved, 
but  unfortunately  the  king  entered,  and  the  charm  was 
broken." 

Napoleon  himself  said,  "  She  constantly  led  the  conver- 
sation ;  returned  at  pleasure  to  her  subject,  and  directed 
it  as  she  chose,  but  with  so  much  skill  and  delicacy  that 
it  was  impossible  to  take  offence."  He  is  also  reported  to 
have  said,  "  She  was  the  most  admirable  queen  and  most 
interesting  woman  he  had  ever  met." 

Talleyrand  is  said  to  have  reproached  Napoleon,  "  Sire, 
shall  posterity  say  that  you  have  given  up  the  fruits  of 
your  victories  on  account  of  a  beautiful  queen  ?  " 

Talleyrand  gives  his  own  version  of  this  interview :  — 

"This  failure,"  he  says,  "might  be  justly  apprehended 
after  the  coarse  question  Napoleon  asked  the  Queen  of 
Prussia  one  day :  '  How  did  you  ever  dare  go  to  war, 
madame,  with  such  feeble  means  as  those  you  had  ? '  - 
'  Sire,  I  must  confess  it  to  your  Majesty,  the  glory  of 
Frederic  II.  had  deluded  us  as  to  our  own  power,'  was 
the  queen's  reply. 

"  The  word  '  glory '  so  happily  placed,  and  in  Napo- 
leon's drawing-room  at  Tilsit,  too,  struck  me  as  superb. 
Afterward  I  so  frequently  referred  to  this  noble  reply, 
that  the  emperor  said  to  me  one  day,  '  I  am  at  a  loss  to 
see  what  there  is  in  that  saying  of  the  Queen  of  Prussia 
that  you  consider  so  fine.  You  may  as  well  talk  of  some- 
thing else.' 

"  I  felt  indignant  at  all  I  saw,  all  I  heard ;  but  I  was 
obliged  to  conceal  my  indignation.  Hence  I  shall  ever 
feel  grateful  to  the  Queen  of  Prussia,  who  was  a  queen  of 
other  days,  for  taking  kindly  notice  of  my  sentiments.  If, 


QUEEN    LOUISE    OF    PRUSSIA 


49 


among  the  scenes  of  my  past  life  that  I  conjure  up,  there 
are  several  which  are  necessarily  painful,  I  at  least  recall 
with  great  gratification  the  words  she  vouchsafed"  to  ad- 
dress to  me,  spoken  almost  in  confidence,  on  the  last  occa- 
sion that  I  had  the  honor  of  accompanying  her  to  her 
carriage:  '  Prince  of  Benevento,'  said  she,  'there  are  but 
two  persons  who  regret  that  I  should  have  come  here  ; 
and  those  two  are  you  and  I.  You  are  not  displeased, 
are  you,  that  I  carry  that  opinion  away  with  me  ? ' 

"  The  tears  of  emotion  and  pride  which  filled  my  eyes 
were  my  reply."  * 

Walter  Scott,  in  his  "Life  of  Napoleon,"  represents  the 
queen,  of  whom  he  speaks  in  the  highest  terms,  as  seek- 
ing the  interview  with  Napoleon  of  her  own  accord,  and 
as  herself  introducing  the  reference  to  Frederic  the  Great 
without  question  of  the  emperor. 

It  is  evident  that  Napoleon  felt  the  charm  of  her  pres- 
ence, and  admired  her  character,  treating  her  personally 
with  great  respect ;  but  he  was  not  one  to  be  turned  from 
a  settled  purpose  by  a  passing  fascination.  He  declared 
that  all  was  already  arranged  with  the  Emperor  Alexander. 
At  a  subsequent  dinner  he  appears  to  have  been  less 
gracious  ;  and,  although  he  presented  her  with  a  rose,  he 
was  deaf  to  her  suggestion,  "  With  Magdeburg,"  as  she 
accepted  it.  She  appears  to  have  expressed  very  frankly 
to  the  emperor  her  feeling  that  she  had  been  deceived. 

A  bitter  thing  it  must  have  been  to  this  high-spirited 
and  noble-minded  woman  to  sue,  and  sue  in  vain,  to  her 
husband's  enemy ;  and  the  temperance  with  which  she 
speaks  of  him  brings  out  her  nobleness.  Rebuking  her 
ladies,  she  said,  "  We  cannot  lighten  our  sorrows  by  hat- 
ing the  emperor,  and  malicious  thoughts  can  only  make 
us  more  unhappy." 

The  terms  of  peace  were  concluded  between  the  two  em- 
perors and  the  king  on  the  ninth  and  tenth  of  July.  The 

1  From  "  Memoirs  of  Talleyrand  "  in  Century  of  February,  1891. 


50  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

Elbe  was  established  as  the  boundary  of  Prussia.  While 
the  queen  felt  the  full  bitterness  of  this  impoverishment 
of  the  kingdom,  she  yet  expressed  her  satisfaction  that 
the  king  had  acted  with  honor,  and  had  yielded  only  to 
inevitable  necessity ;  and  she  felt  that  the  result  would  be 
beneficial  to  Prussia.  She  said  "  Magdeburg  would  be 
found  written  on  her  heart,  like  Calais  on  Queen  Mary's." 

The  pecuniary  burdens  laid  upon  the  towns  were  so 
onerous  that  it  is  said  some  of  them  have  not  been  dis- 
charged to  this  day.  Louise  gave  up  her  jewels  and  most 
cherished  treasures,  and  the  king  parted  with  the  heir- 
looms of  his  family,  to  make  payment  for  his  subjects. 
She  also  persuaded  the  women  of  the  nation  to  give  up 
their  ornaments ;  and  every  woman  who  gave  up  all  re- 
ceived as  a  token  an  iron  ring,  which  was  worn  as  the 
proudest  ornament.  The  iron  cross  was  also  used  as  a 
decoration  of  honor,  for  want  of  more  costly  material. 

The  queen  never  appeared  more  gracious  and  lovely 
than  in  this  time  of  humiliation.  Her  daughter  was  now 
old  enough  to  assist  her  in  the  simple  hospitalities  of  the 
home  at  Memel,  and  her  domestic  happiness  was  almost 
great  enough  to  make  up  for  her  public  trials. 

By  her  constant  sympathy  with  the  king,  she  now  ap- 
pears to  have  taken  a  more  decided  part  in  public  affairs  ; 
and  in  influencing  him  to  intrust  the  "restoration  of  the 
fallen  state,"  as  her  biographer  states,  "first  of  all  to 
Baron  von  Stein,  the  man  whom  posterity,  as  well  as  his 
own  age,  honors  as  the  restorer  of  Germany,"  she  cer- 
tainly did  her  country  noble  service.  He  had  foreseen 
the  evils  which  came  to  the  state,  and  endeavored  to  warn 
the  king ;  but  evil  counsellors  had  procured  his  disgrace, 
and  his  services  were  lost  to  the  country.  Alike  great  by 
his  ability  and  his  character,  he  did  not  refuse  the  recall 
of  the  king  in  his  distress  ;  and  though  hardly  recovered 
from  a  severe  fever,  he  hastened  to  Memel  to  do  his 
utmost  for  the  fallen  state.  Louise  looked  for  his  help 


QUEEN    LOUISE    OF    PRUSSIA  51 

with  the  greatest  eagerness.  When,  in  September,  it  was 
reported  that  France  threatened  still  severer  measures, 
she  broke  forth  in  despair,  "  O  my  God,  why  hast  thou 
forsaken  me?"  and  immediately  added,  "Why  does  Stein 
tarry  ?  He  is  my  last  hope."  In  a  later  letter  she  says, 
"  Stein  is  coming,  and  with  him  I  begin  to  see  light." 
Stein  justified  her  confidence.  His  statesmanship  was 
broad  and  liberal,  and  he  began  such  far-reaching  reforms 
as  the  emancipation  of  the  peasants,  municipal  regula- 
tions, etc.,  which  gave  confidence  to  the  people  of  Prussia, 
and  led  to  that  united  effort  in  which  alone  their  strength 
lay.  Louise  was  an  efficient  co-worker  with  the  reformers. 
Her  German  biographer  says,  "  It  was  she  who  smoothed 
the  ways  at  court,  and  helped  to  overcome  the  difficulties, 
obstacles,  and  prejudices  with  which  they  had  to  contend." 
"  I  implore  you,"  she  wrote  to  Von  Stein,  "  have  patience 
during  the  first  months ;  the  king  will  certainly  keep  his 
word.  I  implore  you,  for  the  sake  of  myself,  my  children, 
my  country,  have  patience." 

A  remarkable  trait  in  Louise's  character  is  the  illumina- 
tion which  her  mind  gained  from  her  affections.  Her 
trustful  love  for  her  husband  brought  out  the  best  in  him, 
and  enabled  her  to  sustain  him  with  her  own  higher  cour- 
age. She  confirmed  him  in  his  liberal  sentiments,  while 
she  tempered  the  fiery  zeal  of  Von  Stein,  whom  Scharn- 
horst  compared  to  Bliicher,  as  being  "  wholly  without  the 
fear  of  man,"  and  who  frequently  offended  personal  feel- 
ings and  disregarded  the  usages  of  the  court.  Through 
the  terrible  days  that  followed,  when  the  French  stripped 
the  capital  of  everything,  even  of  its  cherished  works  of 
art,  Louise  relied  upon  the  great  councillor,  and  would  not 
despair.  When  again,  with  the  support  of  Russia,  it  was 
thought  advisable  to  try  to  influence  Napoleon,  the  queen 
set  aside  all  thought  of  self,  and  wrote  him  a  letter ;  but 
it  had  no  effect.  At  last  Napoleon  ordered  the  evacuation 
of  East  Prussia,  and  she  was  able  to  escape  from  Memel, 


J2  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

whose  humid  climate  was  wrecking  her  health,  and  go 
to  Konigsberg  in  1808.  The  royal  pair  did  not  leave 
Memel  without  expressing  their  gratitude  for  the  affec- 
tion shown  them  there,  and  they  were  received  with  fes- 
tive joy  at  Konigsberg.  The  queen's  youngest  daughter, 
Frederika,  was  born  February  I,  and  the  "Estates  of 
Prussia"  became  her  god-parents,  a  touching  expression 
of  the  affectionate  tie  between  the  down-fallen  king  and 
his  afflicted  people. 

For  a  time,  apparently  exhausted  by  the  long  struggle, 
Louise  lived  mainly,  and  very  quietly,  at  Konigsberg.  She 
was  very  much  interested  in  the  historical  lectures  of 
Professor  Siivern,  of  which  she  asked  the  manuscript  for 
private  reading.  She  asks  her  old  friend  Scheffner  for 
explanations  with  the  simplicity  of  a  girl.  "  Will  you  tell 
me  just  what  hierarchy  means  ?  I  have  no  clear  idea  of 
it.  If  I  understand  right,"  she  says,  "  the  German  age 
(Zeitalter)  was  broken  up  because  men  followed  their  feel- 
ings and  fancy  more  than  they  obeyed  reason,  which,  as 
one  says,  judges  more  correctly."  She  also  asks  him  to 
put  the  dates  at  the  beginning  of  the  periods  of  which  the 
lectures  treat. 

She  wrote,  "  I  have  good  books,  a  good  conscience,  a 
good  pianoforte ;  and  thns  one  can  live  more  quietly  amid 
the  storms  of  the  world  than  those  who  stir  them  up." 

But  the  rapid  march  of  events  soon  broke  up  this 
peace,  and  brought  conflict  not  only  into  the  country,  but 
into  the  band  of  patriots  with  whom  the  queen  sympa- 
thized. The  overthrow  of  the  Bourbons  in  Spain  made 
every  court  in  Europe  tremble.  Such  statesmen  as  Stein, 
Scharnhorst,  and  Gneisenau  favored  a  bold  policy  of  close 
alliance  with  Austria,  and  a  determined  resistance  to  the 
French  emperor ;  but  the  king,  under  the  influence  of 
Russia,  and  without  consulting  Stein,  ratified  the  disas- 
trous treaty  of  Paris,  and  bound  Prussia  to  take  the  posi- 
tion of  an  auxiliary  power  in  the  wars  of  France.  Stein 


QUEEN    LOUISE    OF    PRUSSIA  53 

asked  and  received  his  dismissal.  Napoleon  hurled  at 
him  a  sentence  of  outlawry,  which  drove  him  first  to  Aus- 
tria, and  then  to  Russia,  where  he  was  able  later  to  do  his 
part  in  the  deliverance  of  Germany  and  Europe. 

It  was  a  relief  to  the  queen  when  the  French  evacuated 
Berlin,  although  they  still  retained  the  strongholds  that 
commanded  it,  and  many  suspected  a  plot  to  get  the  royal 
family  completely  in  Napoleon's  power.  He  wrote  courte- 
ous but  formal  letters  to  the  queen,  giving  her  permission 
to  live  where  she  pleased,  and  congratulating  her  on  her 
return  to  Berlin.  She  has  been  blamed  for  not  taking  the 
part  of  Stein  more  thoroughly  in  these  difficulties,  and  for 
accepting  the  invitation  of  Alexander  to  visit  Petersburg 
against  his  advice.  But  we  must  remember  that  she  was 
not  an  independent  sovereign,  able  to  act  in  her  own  right, 
nor  had  she  the  freedom  of  a  private  citizen;  she  was 
bound  to  support  the  king's  policy  when  she  could  not 
change  it,  and  she  saw  in  Russia  the  last  support  of  his 
crown. 

The  king  and  queen  were  welcomed  to  Russia  with 
every  attention.  Thirty-two  thousand  soldiers  lined  the 
way  to  the  winter  palace.  The  king  rode  with  the  em- 
peror; the  queen  followed  in  a  state  carriage  drawn  by 
ei°rht  horses.  She  wore  a  sable  fur  robe  over  white  satin. 

O 

Her  old  Oberhofmeisterin  Voss  and  the  Countess  von 
Moltke  accompanied  her.  The  visit  to  Petersburg  was 
full  of  gayety,  and  she  received  the  most  flattering  atten- 
tions from  the  imperial  family,  but  they  could  not  dispel 
her  melancholy.  "  I  have  returned  as  I  went,"  she  wrote. 
"Nothing  will  blind  me  any  more,  and  I  say  again,  'My 
kingdom  is  not  of  this  world.'  " 

One  thing  that  did  please  her  was  a  visit  to  a  school 
for  young  girls,  founded  by  the  empress,  which  she 
hoped  one  day  to  copy  in  Berlin.  She  did  not  live  to 
carry  out  her  plans  ;  but  on  the  anniversary  of  her  death 
the  "Luisenstiftung"  was  dedicated,  and  her  oldest 


54  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

daughter  appointed  patroness  of  the  school,  in  memory  of 
her  mother. 

She  was  much  interested  in  Pestalozzi,  and  said  "  if  she 
were  her  own  mistress  she  would  get  into  a  carriage  and 
roll  away  to  him  in  Switzerland,  in  order  to  thank  him 
with  a  pressure  of  the  hand  and  tears  in  her  eyes."  She 
also  took  a  great  interest  in  the  popular  movements  in 
the  Tyrol,  and  speaks  with  warm  admiration  of  Andreas 
Hofer.  She  delighted,  too,  in  Schiller's  "William  Tell," 
and  was  full  of  zeal  in  the  cause  of  freedom. 

Her  religious  feelings  were  very  strong,  and  she  looked 
with  hope  to  a  reawakening  of  religious  life  among  the 
people.  On  the  twenty-ninth  of  September  she  gave 
birth  to  a  son,  who  was  baptized  by  the  name  of  the 
Markgraf  Albrecht. 

Eagerly  as  the  queen  had  longed  for  a  return  to  Berlin, 
now  that  it  was  near,  and  she  was  coming  with  shattered 
health  and  sorrowful  memories  of  the  terrible  changes 
that  had  taken  place,  her  soul  seemed  sick  even  unto 
death,  and  sad  presentiments  oppressed  her.  The  royal 
couple  started  on  the  fifteenth  of  September,  and  on  the 
twenty-third  were  met  at  Waisensee,  the  next  village  to 
Berlin,  by  a  deputation  from  the  city.  Young  maidens 
strewed  flowers  before  the  richly  decorated  house  pre- 
pared for  their  early  meal.  The  Berlin  people  sent  her  a 
handsome  new  carriage  lined  with  her  favorite  color,  lilac. 
She  expressed  her  pleasure  that  the  first  use  she  should 
make  of  it  was  to  re-enter  the  capital.  Her  sons  with 
their  regiments  formed  her  guard.  On  the  twenty-fifth 
the  king  and  queen  appeared  at  the  opera,  and  were 
greeted  by  a  thousand  voices  singing  Werner's  "  People's 
Hymn,"  which  closes,— 

"  Troste  die  Kbnigin, 
Rein  ist  und  schon  ihr  Sinn, 
Lass  ihr  aus  Thranensaat 
Frieden  erbliihn." 


QUEEN    LOUISE    OF    PRUSSIA 


55 


The  following  spring  the  queen  suffered  much  from  a 
wasting  fever,  and  from  the  dangerous  sickness  of  her 
daughter,  as  well  as  from  anxiety  about  the  threatening 
condition  of  public  affairs. 

For  years  Louise  had  desired  to  pay  a  visit  to  her 
father  in  Strelitz.  She  now  decided  to  go  thither  on  the 
twenty-fifth  of  June,  to  stay  about  eight  days,  the  king 
having  promised  to  follow  her  on  the  twenty-eighth. 
Her  companion  tells  us,  "The  queen  was  very  cheerful 
on  the  journey  ;  but  when  we  approached  the  frontier  of 
Prussia  Mechlenburg,  a  mysterious  melancholy  came  over 
her,  but  she  quickly  composed  herself,  and  it  passed  off." 
She  was  warmly  welcomed  by  all  her  family,  even  by  her 
venerable  grandmother ;  and  when  her  husband  reached 
her,  June  28,  she  wrote,  and  they  were  her  last  written 
words,  "  I  am  very  happy  to-day,  dear  father,  as  your 
daughter,  and  the  wife  of  the  best  of  men." 

The  queen  was  taken  sick  the  same  evening,  but  the 
physicians  did  not  apprehend  immediate  danger,  and,  sum- 
moned by  urgent  business  of  the  state,  the  king  left  her, 
July  3 ;  and,  being  himself  taken  ill  at  Charlottenburg,  he 
saw  the  queen  again  only  in  the  last  struggle  with  death. 
She  felt  this  absence  deeply,  and  held  a  letter  from  the 
king  close  pressed  to  her  heart.  She  suffered  keenly, 
especially  from  difficulty  of  breathing,  often  calling  for 
air.  She  was  still  patient  and  affectionate,  and  tenderly 
recognized  her  husband  and  children  when  they  came  to 
her.  I  will  not  dwell  longer  on  the  sad  scene.  About 
nine  o'clock  she  raised  her  eyes  to  heaven,  and  said,  "  I 
am  dying.  O  Jesus,  make  it  easy  !  "  and  passed  to  sleep. 

At  the  dark  pine  forest  on  the  frontier,  a  Prussian 
escort  received  the  remains  of  the  beloved  queen.  As 
the  melancholy  procession  passed  through  Berlin,  the 
lamentation  was  universal.  The  funeral  services  took 
place  on  the  thirtieth,  in  the  cathedral. 

In  the  plantation  behind  the  castle  at  Charlottenburg 


56  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

was  a  summer-house  in  the  form  of  a  Greek  temple.  The 
queen  loved  the  spot,  and  the  king  now  deemed  it  sacred  to 
her.  Her  remains  were  placed  here  December  23,  just  one 
year  after  her  return  to  Berlin,  and  seventeen  years  since 
she  came  thither  as  a  bride.  Only  thirty-four  years  of 
age,  this  lovely  woman  might  seem  to  have  hardly  passed 
her  youth,  but  most  truly  could  she  say  with  Thekla,  — 

"  Ich  habe  genossen  das  irdische  Gliick, 
Ich  habe  gelebt  und  geliebet." 

The  following  remarkable  letter  to  her  father  gives  us 
a  clear  insight  into  her  thoughts  and  her  family  relations. 
It  is  also  very  interesting  to  note  the  breadth  of  her  politi- 
cal views,  and  how  fairly  she  weighed  the  character  of  her 
great  opponent. 

"  With  us  it  is  all  over  for  the  present,  if  not  forever.  I  look  for  noth- 
ing more  during  my  life.  I  have  resigned  myself;  and  in  this  resignation, 
this  submission  to  the  will  of  God,  I  am  now  tranquil  and  at  peace ;  if  I  do 
not  possess  earthly  happiness,  I  have  what  means  more,  —  spiritual  blessed- 
ness. It  becomes  more  and  more  clear  to  me  that  everything  had  to  come 
as  it  has.  Divine  Providence  is  unmistakably  introducing  a  new  order  of 
things  into  the  world ;  there  will  be  a  different  arrangement,  since  the  old 
order  has  outlived  itself  and  is  falling  to  pieces. 

"  We  have  fallen  asleep  on  the  laurels  of  Frederic  the  Great,  who,  as  the 
master  of  his  century,  created  a  new  epoch.  We  have  not  kept  pace  with 
the  age,  therefore  it  has  left  us  behind.  No  one  is  better  aware  of  this  than 
the  king.  I  have  just  had  a  conversation  with  him,  in  which  he  repeatedly 
said,  as  if  speaking  to  himself,  'This  also  must  be  changed  among  us. 
Even  the  best  and  most  maturely  considered  plans  fail,  and  the  French 
Emperor  is  at  least  more  cunning  and  astute  than  we  are.  If  the  Russians 
and  Prussians  had  fought  as  bravely  as  lions,  even  if  unconquered,  we  should 
nevertheless  have  been  obliged  to  quit  the  field ;  the  enemy  would  have  had 
the  advantage.  We  may  learn  much  from  Napoleon,  and  what  he  has 
achieved  will  not  be  lost  upon  us.  It  would  be  blasphemy  to  say  that 
God  is  with  him  ;  but  evidently  he  is  an  instrument  in  the  hands  of  the 
Almighty  to  bury  the  old  era,  which  no  longer  has  any  life,  and  which  is 
almost  overgrown  with  excrescences. 

"  Better  times  will  certainly  come.  Faith  in  the  most  perfect  being  is  a 
guaranty  of  this.  But  only  through  goodness  can  the  world  become  better. 
Therefore,  I  do  not  believe  that  the  Emperor  Napoleon  Bonaparte  is  safe 
upon  his  throne.  Only  truth  and  justice  are  strong  and  secure.  He  is  only 
politic  (that  means  worldly  wise),  and  he  does  not  conform  to  eternal  laws, 


QUEEN    LOUISE    OF    PRUSSIA  57 

but  to  circumstances,  as  they  happen  to  be.  With  such  a  policy  he  stains 
his  government  with  many  deeds  of  injustice.  His  intentions  are  not  good, 
even  if  his  cause  is  good.  In  his  boundless  ambition  he  thinks  only  of  him- 
self and  his  personal  interest.  'We  must  admire  him,  but  we  cannot  love 
him.  He  is  dazzled  by  his  success,  and  he  fancies  himself  able  to  accomplish 
everything.  Moreover,  he  has  no  moderation,  and  he  who  cannot  preserve 
moderation,  loses  his  balance  and  falls.  I  have  a  strong  faith  in  God,  and 
also  in  his  moral  government  of  the  world.  This  I  do  not  see  in  the  rule  of 
might;  therefore,  I  have  the  hope  this  present  age  will  be  succeeded  by  a 
better  one.  All  good  men  hope  for  this  and  await  it,  and  one  must  not  be 
misled  by  the  panegyrists  of  present  heroes,  whom  they  esteem  great.  What 
has  taken  place  is  unmistakably  neither  final  nor  abiding,  but  only  the  open- 
ing of  a  path  to  a  better  end.  This  end  appears  to  be  at  a  great  distance; 
we  probably  shall  not  see  it,  and  shall  die  before  it  is  reached.  As  God 
wills;  all  as  he  wills:  I  find  comfort,  strength,  courage,  and  serenity  in  this 
hope  which  lies  deep  in  my  soul.  Life  is  but  a  passage,  yet  we  must  go 
through  it.  Let  us  care  only  for  this,  to  become  each  day  riper  and  better. 

"  Here,  dear  father,  you  have  my  political  creed  as  well  as  a  woman  can 
construct  one.  It  may  have  gaps,  but  I  shall  not  suffer  by  that.  But  pardon 
me  for  annoying  you  with  this;  from  it  you  can  at  least  see  that  you  have  a 
pious  and  attached  daughter,  and  that  the  principles  of  Christian  piety,  which 
I  owe  to  your  teachings  and  your  godly  example,  have  borne  their  fruits, 
and  will  bear  them  as  long  as  I  live." 

The  sentiments  of  hope  and  forbearance  in  this  letter 
may  not  seem  so  remarkable  to  us,  who  have  seen  her 
hopes  realized ;  but  when  we  remember  that  it  was  written 
in  a  season  of  the  greatest  national  humiliation,  as  well  as 
personal  loss  and  suffering,  and  that  she  is  speaking  of 
the  great  conqueror,  through  whom  these  tremendous 
evils  came,  we  cannot  but  admire  alike  the  sagacious  fore- 
sight, the  wise  liberality,  and  the  temperance  with  which 
she  spoke  to  one  to  whom  she  could  pour  out  her  full 
heart. 

As  Louise  is  not  less  interesting  to  us  as  a  wife  and 
mother  than  as  a  queen,  I  will  give  the  conclusion  of  this 
letter,  in  which  she  so  naturally  tells  her  father  of  her 
home  and  husband  and  children  :  — 

"Gladly  will  you  hear,  dear  father,  that  the  calamities  that  have  befallen 
us  have  not  forced  their  way  into  our  wedded  and  home  life;  they  have  rather 


58  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

strengthened  it,  and  made  it  even  more  precious  to  us.  The  king,  the  best 
of  beings,  is  kinder  and  more  loving  than  ever.  Often  I  think  I  see  in  him 
the  lover  and  bridegroom,  always  showing  more  by  his  actions  than  his 
words;  I  see  the  watchfulness  that  he  has  for  me  in  all  points.  Only  yester- 
day he  said  to  me  in  his  plain  and  simple  way,  looking  at  me  with  his  true 
eyes,  '  Thou  dear  Louise  !  Thou  hast  become  to  me  in  misfortune  still  more 
precious  and  beloved.  Now  I  know  from  experience  what  I  have  in  thee. 
It  may  storm  without,  if  only  it  remains  fair  weather  in  our  wedded  life. 
Because  I  love  thee  so,  I  have  called  our  latest  born  little  daughter  Louise. 
May  she  become  a  Louise ! '  This  goodness  moved  me  to  tears.  It  is  my 
pride,  my  joy,  and  my  happiness  to  possess  the  love  and  approval  of  this  best 
of  men;  and  because  I  heartily  love  him  in  return,  and  we  are  so  united  that 
the  will  of  one  is  also  the  will  of  the  other,  it  becomes  easy  for  me  to  pre- 
serve this  happy  union  of  sentiments,  which  has  become  closer  with  years. 
In  a  word,  he  pleases  me  in  all  points,  and  I  please  him,  and  we  are  happiest 
when  we  are  together.  Pardon  me,  dear  father,  that  I  tell  this  with  a  certain 
boastfulness.  There  lies  in  it  the  artless  expression  of  my  happiness,  which 
interests  no  one  in  the  world  more  deeply  than  you,  dear,  fond  father  !  How 
to  treat  others;  that,  too,  I  have  learned  from  the  king.  I  cannot  talk  on 
this  subject;  it  is  enough  that  we  understand  each  other.  Our  children  are 
our  treasures,  and  our  eyes  rest  upon  them  with  satisfaction  and  hope.  The 
crown  prince  is  full  of  life  and  spirit.  He  has  superior  talents,  which  are 
happily  developed  and  cultivated.  He  is  true  in  all  his  sentiments  and  words, 
and  his  vivacity  makes  dissimulation  impossible.  He  learns  history  with 
especial  success,  and  the  great  and  the  good  attract  to  them  his  imaginative 
mind.  He  has  a  keen  appreciation  of  what  is  humorous,  and  his  comical 
and  startling  ideas  entertain  us  agreeably.  He  is  especially  attached  to  his 
mother,  and  he  cannot  be  purer  than  he  is.  He  is  very  dear  to  me,  and  I 
often  talk  with  him  of  how  it  will  be  at  some  future  time  when  he  is  king." 

This  son  became  the  brilliant  Frederic  William  IV., 
who  said,  "The  unity  of  Germany  concerns  me  deeply  ;  it 
is  an  inheritance  from  my  mother."  But  he  did  not  live 
to  see  it  accomplished,  and  it  is  the  second  son  of  Louise, 
therefore,  the  Emperor  William,  with  whom  we  almost  feel 
a  personal  acquaintance,  who  interests  us  most  deeply. 
The  mother  goes  on  to  say  of  him, — 

"  Our  son  William  will  be,  if  everything  does  uot  deceive  me,  like  his 
father,  —  simple,  upright,  and  wise.  Also,  in  his  outward  appearance,  he 
bears  the  greatest  resemblance  to  him,  only  he  is,  I  think,  not  so  good  look- 
ing. You  see,  dear  father,  I  am  still  in  love  with  my  husband." 


QUEEN    LOUISE    OF    PRUSSIA  59 

The  prince  was  then  eleven  years  old.  What  a  reward 
it  would  have  been  to  his  mother  for  all  her  sufferings, 
if  she  could  have  foreseen  the  long  life  of  this  son,  the 
unity  of  Germany  accomplished  under  his  reign,  and,  above 
all,  the  love  and  confidence  with  which  he  was  regarded  by 
the  people! 

The  queen  goes  on  to  speak  of  her  other  children,  and 
of  how  well  it  is  for  them  to  have  seen  thus  early  the 
serious  side  of  life.  "  It  is  especially  salutary,"  she  says, 
"for  the  crown  prince  that  he  became  acquainted  with 
misfortune  while  crown  prince." 

And  later  she  writes, — 

"  Even  if  posterity  does  not  mention  my  name  among  illustrious  women, 
yet,  when  it  learns  the  sorrows  of  the  time,  it  will  know  what  I  have  suffered 
through  them,  and  will  say,  '  She  endured  much,  and  she  remained  patient 
in  the  midst  of  suffering. '  Then  I  could  wish  that  at  the  same  time  they 
might  say,  '  She  gave  birth  to  children  who  were  worthy  of  better  times; 
she  endeavored  to  lead  them  onwards,  and  at  last  her  care  has  borne  rich 
fruit.'" 

Her  prayer  was  not  "  dispersed  in  empty  air." 
The  character  of  Queen  Louise  of  Prussia  was  clear, 
simple,  strong,  harmonious,  and  tender.  She  had  an 
exquisite  regard  for  the  feelings  of  others,  in  every  situa- 
tion of  life,  which  made  the  peer  and  the  peasant  alike 
revere  her  as  a  superior,  and  love  and  trust  her  as  an 
equal.  The  severe  influences  of  a  Lutheran  training,  the 
intellectual  depths  of  a  German  brain,  and,  above  all,  the 
rich  experiences  of  her  short  life,  passed  in  a  period  wheii 
great  ideas  were  everywhere  struggling  into  action,  and 
her  full  range  from  the  queen's  throne  to  the  dependence 
of  a  wandering  fugitive,  gave  her  a  firmness  of  purpose,  a 
vigor  of  action,  and  an  insight  into  the  meaning  of  events, 
which  surprised  those  who  had  first  been  charmed  by  her 
winning  feminine  grace  and  courtesy. 

She  had  the  rare  good  fortune  not  to  lose  the  blessings 
of  private  life  in  attaining  her  exalted  station,  and  that 


6O  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

happiness  kept  her  brave  and  sweet  in  all  trials.  Her 
influence  upon  her  husband's  career  was  always  helpful ; 
and  although  her  own  sense  of  the  proprieties  of  her  posi- 
tion, drawn  from  the  teachings  of  her  youth,  prevented 
her  from  influencing  the  king  as  strongly  as  she  might 
have  done,  and  urging  him  to  a  course  which  might  have 
saved  much  humiliation  and  sorrow,  she  yet  did  much  to 
preserve  for  him  the  respect  and  affection  of  his  people, 
and  to  make  united  action  possible  when  the  hour  struck. 
Napoleon,  whose  sagacity  was  not  often  deceived,  felt  her 
power,  and  knew  that  her  voice  against  him  was  worth  "a 
thousand  armed  men. " 

Many  portraits  of  Queen  Louise  are  preserved  in  the 
Hohenzollern  museum  at  Berlin.  They  differ  very  much 
in  position,  dress,  and  even  expression ;  but  they  all  repre- 
sent the  same  delicately  rounded  outline,  full  blue  eyes, 
small  nose,  and  finely  rounded  chin,  and  soft  fair  hair,  and 
all  confirm  the  accounts  of  the  fine  intelligence  and  grace 
of  her  expression.  Domestic  relics,  among  which  are  the 
cradle  of  her  children,  her  Bible,  and  specimens  of  her 
childish  work,  show  the  simplicity  of  her  life.  Elsewhere 
will  be  found  a  history  of  the  beautiful  statue  of  Rauch, 
which  has  done  so  much  to  preserve  her  memory. 

"After  death  comes  the  resurrection."  Louise  is  bet- 
ter known  and  more  beloved  to-day  than  even  in  her  life- 
time. Then  she  was  the  Queen  of  Prussia,  now  she  is 
the  mother  of  a  line  of  German  emperors  who  have  estab- 
lished the  unity  of  Germany,  and  made  the  country  for 
whose  humiliation  she  wept  a  power  and  an  honor  among 
nations.  All  Germany  claims  her  now  as  its  mother, 
and  is  true  to  its  claim  in  giving  her  honor  and  loving 
reverence. 

How  gladly  would  she  have  accepted  such  testimony 
as  this  from  the  biographer  of  her  great-grandson,  the 
present  emperor :  "  It  was  Louise  who  ingrafted  a 
humane  spirit  upon  the  rough  drill-sergeant  body  of 


QUEEN    LOUISE    OF    PRUSSIA  6l 

Hohenzollern  education.  She  made  her  sons  love  her ; 
and  it  seems  but  yesterday  since  the  last  of  these  sons,  a 
tottering  old  man  of  ninety,  used  to  go  to  the  Charlotten- 
burg  mausoleum  on  the  anniversary  of  her  death,  and  pray 
and  weep  in  solitude  beside  the  recumbent  marble  effigy 
of  his  mother,  who  died  in  1810.  The  introduction  of 
filial  affection  between  parents  and  children  dates  from 
this  Queen  Louise,  and  belongs  to  this  century.  Before 
this,  it  was  the  rule  of  the  heirs  of  Prussia  to  detest  their 
immediate  progenitors."1 

In  1880  the  statue  of  Queen  Louise  by  Encke  was 
erected  in  the  little  island  of  the  Thiergarten,  sacred  to 
her  memory.  I  was  told  by  a  well-known  connoisseur 
that  this  statue  is  the  most  faithful  likeness  of  Queen 
Louise,  the  one  by  Rauch  being  much  idealized,  and  that 
when  it  was  dedicated  he  stood  near  the  old  emperor,  who 
was  heard  to  say  with  emphasis,  "  This  is  my  mother  !  " 
He  could  truly  say,  "  I  respect  the  Unity  of  Germany ;  it 
is  a  legacy  from  my  mother." 

l  "  The  young  Emperor  William  II.  of  Germany ;  a  study  in  character  develop- 
ment on  a  throne,"  by  Harold  Frederic.  London,  1891. 


62  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 


CHAPTER    IV 

STATUES    OF    QUEEN    LOUISE 
1810-1827 

IT  intensified  the  suffering  of  Rauch  in  his  want  of 
sympathy  with  the  friends  of  Napoleon  in  Rome,  that  he 
looked  upon  the  emperor  as  the  personal  foe  of  his  be- 
loved queen ;  and  this,  with  every  other  feeling,  united  to 
inspire  him  with  interest  in  the  work  of  making  a  fitting 
monument  of  her.  The  bereaved  husband  had  been  his 
early  and  steady  friend,  and  if  the  artist  could  now  repay 
his  kindness  it  would  be  by  means  of  his  own  well-beloved 
art. 

It  was  in  Rome,  July,  1810,  that  the  intelligence  of 
the  death  of  the  queen  reached  him.  He  had  already 
modelled  a  bust  of  her  as  an  expression  of  gratitude,  and 
he  finished  it,  and  in  September  sent  it  to  the  king.  It 
was  placed  in  her  empty  room  in  Charlottenburg. 

The  king  was  fired  with  the  idea  of  building  a  fitting 
mausoleum  for  the  queen,  and  was  so  pleased  with  the 
bust  that  he  wished  to  give  the  commission  to  Rauch. 

He  wrote  to  Von  Humboldt  to  obtain  sketches  from 
Canova  and  Thorwaldsen  and  Rauch  for  a  full-length 
figure  of  the  queen,  to  be  placed  on  a  sarcophagus. 

Rauch  was  overwhelmed  at  the  idea  of  the  king's  pro- 
posing to  him  a  competition  with  these  two  artists,  so 
much  his  seniors  in  age  and  reputation  ;  but  he  felt  bound 
to  obey,  and  he  prepared  his  sketch,  which  he  sent  to  the 
king  in  November.  "I  cannot  understand,"  he  says, 
"  why  the  king  should  pass  by  Schadow,  and  send  to 


STATUES    OF    QUEEN    LOUISE  63 

Rome."  Thorwaldsen  became  so  much  interested  in 
Ranch's  work  that  he  wished  him  to  make  a  bust  of  him- 
self, and  he  resigned  all  claim  to  make  the  statue  of  the 
queen,  saying  that  it  belonged  to  Rauch  to  do  it.  Canova 
took  the  same  position.  Humboldt's  letter  to  Rauch  is 
full  of  interest,  and  enters  into  minute  details  in  regard  to 
the  position  of  the  sarcophagus  in  the  Greek  temple.  He 
says,  "  Finally  the  king  has  come  to  the  much  happier 
conclusion  to  have  the  figure  of  the  queen  herself,  of  life- 
size,  in  a  quiet  position,  draped,  but  with  cloth  of  so  soft  a 
texture  that  the  form  of  the  body  will  appear  through  it." 

Rauch  was  deeply  affected  by  the  trust  reposed  in  him, 
and  the  generosity  of  the  two  great  sculptors,  who  resigned 
their  interests  and  recognized  the  propriety  of  his  doing 
the  work  from  his  love  and  veneration  for  the  queen. 

Never  did  sculptor  have  a  more  stimulating  task.  He 
was  not  only  inspired  by  his  own  tenderness,  respect,  and 
gratitude  for  the  beautiful  woman,  but  he  found  in  her 
the  ideal  of  his  country,  the  German-hearted  queen,  who, 
in  the  midst  of  all  the  distress  and  excitement  of  the 
time,  never  despaired,  but  held  up  the  fainting  hearts  of 
prince  and  peasant  in  the  hour  of  humiliation. 

And  yet  Rauch  had  some  misgivings  in  turning  to  this 
work ;  for  he  was  at  that  time  so  wholly  wrapped  up  in 
classic  art  that  a  portrait  statue,  prescribed  to  order  as  to 
its  treatment,  seemed  like  a  fetter  to  his  genius.  Yet  he 
was  to  learn  from  it  the  truest  lesson  that  Greek  art  has 
for  us,  how  to  make  limitations  a  new  source  of  success. 
Had  he  yielded  to  this,  —  I  had  almost  said  boyish  feeling, 
—  and  remained  in  Rome,  working  under  the  influence  of 
Canova  and  Thorwaldsen,  and  studying  Greek  art  instead 
of  universal  nature,  what  a  loss  to  himself,  to  German 
art,  to  the  world  !  For  in  this  statue  he  found  the  secret 
of  the  union  of  the  Real  and  the  Ideal,  the  Individual,  the 
Characteristic,  and  the  Universal.  So  beautifully,  so 
nobly,  does  it  portray  the  ideal  womanhood,  that  every 


64  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

heart  melts  at  its  tender  beauty,  though  the  life  of  the 
heroic  queen  be  wholly  unknown  to  them  ;  and  not  less 
the  husband,  whose  very  heart  was  bound  up  in  her,  so 
cherished  it  as  bringing  her  back  to  him,  even  "in  the 
very  habit  as  she  lived,"  that  when  Rauch  made  a  second 
statue,  improving  upon  some  artistic  points,  the  king  was 
loath  to  look  upon  it,  feeling  it  must  be  another,  and  not 
herself. 

The  king  wished  to  have  this  work  done  under  his  own 
eyes  at  Berlin,  but  he  forbore  to  press  the  point.  Von 
Humboldt  did  not  hesitate  to  urge  it,  however,  and  offered 
to  Rauch  every  inducement  and  assistance  in  making  the 
journey  to  Berlin.  It  was  a  hard  struggle  to  leave  Rome, 
and  his  work  and  his  friends  there ;  but  he  did  not  hesi- 
tate to  do  so,  and  on  the  second  of  February  he  travelled, 
as  he  says,  "  through  a  purgatory  of  ice  "  to  Vienna,  where 
he  spent  a  week  of  paradise  with  the  Humboldts,  and 
went  from  there  as  a  courier  by  Dresden  to  Berlin,  where 
he  arrived  on  the  fifth  of  March,  1811. 

He  was  warmly  welcomed,  not  only  by  the  king,  but, 
which  he  felt  more  deeply  at  the  moment,  by  his  old  mas- 
ter, Schadow,  who  felt  no  jealousy  at  the  commission 
given  him,  but  rejoiced  at  his  success. 

Rauch  first  made  a  sketch  according  to  the  wishes  of 
the  king,  who  desired  the  most  simple  treatment  of  the 
woman  he  loved.  But  Rauch,  with  his  fine  artistic  sense, 
saw  all  the  capabilities  of  the  subject,  and  made  another 
drawing  of  the  queen  in  her  majesty.  This  delighted  the 
king,  for  it  was  a  vain  effort  to  restore  to  him  the  wife  he 
had  loved,  but  possible  to  preserve  to  him  and  to  the 
world  the  lofty  ideal  of  her  character.  The  king  called 
all  his  family  together  to  see  the  sketches  presented,  but 
all,  like  the  king,  unhesitatingly  preferred  that  of  Rauch. 
Rauch  himself  was  troubled  lest  Schadow  should  feel 
wronged ;  but  he  consoled  himself  with  the  thought  that 
he  had  made  no  effort  to  obtain  the  commission,  but  had 


STATUES    OF    QUEEN    LOUISE  65 

only  obeyed  the  king.  Humboldt  reassured  him  on  this 
point.  Canova  wrote  to  the  king,  saying  that  he  had  sent 
a  sketch  merely  to  comply  with  his  wish,  and  that  he  con- 
sidered the  king's  choice  in  every  way  the  best. 

Rauch  made  a  small  model  in  clay,  half-size,  which  at 
first  delighted  the  king  ;  but  when  at  evening  he  returned 
to  study  it  alone,  he  objected  to  some  classical  figures  of 
genii  which  Rauch  had  introduced  into  the  bass-reliefs  of 
the  sarcophagus.  He  thought  only  Christian  subjects 
suited  the  lofty  character  of  the  queen  and  the  afflicted 
state  of  the  country.  Rauch  accordingly  modelled  sub- 
jects from  the  New  Testament,  and  Thorwaldsen  asked 
that,  out  of  special  respect  to  the  king  and  the  blessed 
queen,  he  might  be  allowed  to  model  one  of  the  figures. 
The  king  was  surprised  and  touched,  and  said  that  the 
work  of  so  great  an  artist  would  add  to  the  value  of  the 
monument  and  please  him  much,  but  owing  to  a  change 
of  plan  the  bass-reliefs  were  given  up  entirely,  and  this 
offer  was  not  carried  out. 

Rauch  had  modelled  the  statue  larger  than  life,  but  the 
king  wished  it  of  the  exact  size.  He  yielded  gracefully, 
however,  to  his  relations  and  friends,  saying,  "  One  must 
not  dispute  with  artists  and  their  followers  ;  laymen  like 
me  always  come  off  second  best."  The  poor  king  almost 
lived  in  this  work,  and  it  was  hard  for  him  to  consent  to 
its  being  taken  to  Rome  to  be  put  into  marble.  But 
Rauch  felt  that  he  could  execute  his  task  better  in  Italy, 
and  had  already  given  orders  to  have  suitable  marble 
selected  for  it.  The  king  had  a  cast  made  from  the 
model,  and  also  from  the  bust,  which  he  gave  to  dear 
friends.  This  work  had  been  done  in  Charlottenburg, 
whither  the  king  often  came  to  see  it. 

Rauch  left  Berlin  January  4,  1812,  in  company  with 
Rudolf  Schadow,  and  they  spent  two  happy  weeks  to- 
gether with  the  Von  Humboldts  at  Vienna,  and  then,  by 
invitation  of  the  crown  prince,  went  on  to  Munich. 


66  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

Rauch  remained  a  while  at  Florence,  and  then  went  to 
Carrara  to  examine  the  marble  for  the  sarcophagus. 
Quite  delighted  with  the  result  of  his  researches,  he  went 
on  the  ninth  of  March  back  to  Florence  to  Salvetti  &  Co., 
to  receive  his  packages. 

Here  he  received  a  letter  from  the  forwarding  agents  at 
Bologna,  saying  that,  on  opening  the  packages  at  the 
Dogana,  at  Bologna,  they  had  found,  not  the  plaster  mod- 
els in  the  chest,  but  only  bits  of  plaster,  and  all  in  a  thou- 
sand pieces,  on  account  of  bad  packing.  Rauch  had 
already  engaged  a  courier  for  the  evening  to  go  to  Rome, 
but  he  borrowed  twelve  piastres,  and  mounts,  without 
dinner,  but  with  a  heavy  headache,  into  the  courier  wagon 
for  Bologna.  Arrived  at  Bologna,  he  hastened  to  the 
office  of  the  agent,  Benassi,  and,  on  opening  the  chests, 
was  relieved  to  find  the  damage  not  so  great  as  he  feared. 
The  upper  half  of  the  statue  was  indeed  broken  into  sixty 
pieces,  but  not  so  badly  but  that  it  could  be  restored  to 
serve  for  a  model.  The  joints  were  sharp,  and  the  surface 
had  not  suffered.  A  professor  of  the  academy  offered 
him  a  room  in  which  to  do  the  work  of  restoration  ;  and 
he  was  enabled  on  the  eighteenth  to  return  to  Florence 
and  start  from  there  on  his  way  to  Rome. 

At  Carrara,  Rauch  was  engaged  in  many  other  works 
besides  the  statue  of  the  queen ;  but  he  gave  his  most 
devoted  attention  to  that,  feeling  as  if  he  could  not  find 
marble  pure  and  white  enough  for  it,  and  rejoicing  that 
he  had  already  learned  so  much  about  working  in  marble. 
Tieck  was  of  the  greatest  assistance  to  him,  as  he  also 
had  charge  of  the  candelabra  to  be  made  after  Schinkel's 
drawings.  While  the  workmen  were  engaged  on  the  first 
rough  cutting  of  the  marble,  Rauch  made  a  flying  visit  to 
Florence  to  make  studies  for  the  details  of  the  sarcopha- 
gus from  the  antique.  He  then  made  a  wholly  nude 
model  of  the  statue  of  the  queen  before  clothing  it  with 
the  soft  drapery  which  modestly  veils  without  concealing 


STATUES    OF    QUEEN    LOUISE  6/ 

the  graceful  form  beneath.  He  says,  "  It  is  a  true  char- 
acter statue  of  her,  and  not  an  Adonis  or  generalized  form 
of  beauty."  He  watches  with  great  interest  all  the  me- 
chanical processes,  and  takes  great  pains  in  the  execution 
of  the  candelabra.  His  own  intention  was  to  finish  the 
whole  work  at  Carrara ;  but  he  yielded  to  the  wish  of  the 
king  that  he  should  finish  it  at  Rome,  where  he  could  have 
the  advantage  of  the  criticism  and  sympathy  of  other 
artists. 

On  the  twenty-first  of  June  the  statue  was  unpacked  in 
Rome,  and  Thorwaldsen  saw  it.  He  was  extremely  well 
pleased  with  the  idea,  as  well  as  with  the  execution  in 
marble.  Rudolf  Schadow  expressed  a  surprise  and  admi- 
ration of  the  work  that  made  Rauch  feel  that  what  he  had 
heard  before  had  not  been  favorable.  "  It  is  quite  dif- 
ferent in  marble,"  he  said.  Rauch  felt  that  he  had  gained 
a  great  deal  from  his  work  in  Carrara,  having  learned  the 
nature  of  marble  and  how  to  work  it. 

The  artist  finds  consolation  in  his  work  for  all  that 
troubles  him  in  politics,  and  his  thoughts  are  constantly 
in  Carjara,  directing  every  part  of  the  work  on  the  sar- 
cophagus, asking  to  which  workman  the  buffalo-heads  or 
other  parts  of  the  work  are  given.  He  has  all  so  clearly 
in  his  mind  that  he  can  make  minute  changes  without 
seeing  it.  Although  he  mixes  up  politics  and  sculpture  in 
his  letters  to  Tieck  in  a  way  which  shows  the  disturbed 
state  of  his  mind,  as,  "  Do  you  believe  in  peace  ? "  imme- 
diately following  a  question  about  the  quality  of  the  marble, 
yet  he  is  thoroughly  careful  and  exact  in  all  his  accounts 
with  the  workmen  and  with  everybody. 

At  the  close  of  the  year  1813  he  went  to  Carrara  to  see 
that  all  was  right,  but  wished  to  keep  his  thirty-eighth 
birthday,  January  2,  in  Rome.  He  changed  his  plans 
about  the  ornaments  of  the  candelabra,  and  began  to 
model  the  three  Fates.  On  the  eighth  of  January  he 
exhibited  the  finished  statue,  which  brought  a  crowd  of 


68  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

visitors,  and  hindered  his  work.  He  was  most  anxious  for 
the  judgment  of  Thorwaldsen  and  Canova.  Both  showed 
themselves  well  satisfied,  and  Canova  marked  his  appre- 
ciation by  proposing  the  sculptor  as  a  member  of  the 
senate  of  the  Academy  of  St.  Luke.  His  heart  was 
divided  between  his  work  in  Carrara,  his  interests  in 
Rome,  and  his  desire  to  see  the  statue  well  placed  in 
Berlin. 

On  the  nineteenth  of  July,  the  anniversary  of  the 
queen's  death,  the  last  stroke  was  made  on  the  sarcopha- 
gus in  Carrara  ;  and  chance  willed  that  on  the  same  day 
the  statue  in  Rome  was  packed  up  to  go  to  Guebhardt  & 
Co.  in  Leghorn,  who  were  to  care  for  the  shipment  to 
Hamburg,  and  thence  by  land  to  Charlottenburg,  as  had 
been  prescribed  by  a  cabinet  order.  On  the  fourth  of 
August  the  atelier  at  Carrara  was  deserted,  and  Rauch 
hastened  to  Leghorn  to  oversee  the  departure  for  Ham- 
burg. An  English  brigantine  was  selected,  carrying 
three  hundred  tons,  and  bound  direct  for  Hamburg. 
Rauch  was  afraid  of  the  equinoctial  storms,  and  also  of 
the  American  privateers,  —  it  was  during  our  second  war 
with  England,  — and  he  had  the  whole  lading  insured  for 
five  thousand  Roman  scudi.  He  decided  to  go  to  Berlin 
to  receive  and  place  the  monument. 

He  stopped  on  his  way  at  Vienna  and  Munich,  and  in 
the  latter  place  on  Christmas  Eve  he  read  in  the  Allgemei- 
nen  Zeitung  that  the  ship  that  carried  the  queen  had 
been  seized  by  an  American  privateer  in  going  out  of  the 
harbor  of  Lorient. 

Rauch  felt  as  if  his  forebodings  of  evil  were  fulfilled ; 
but  then  came  a  strife  of  feeling,  for  already  he  had 
become  so  conscious  of  greater  artistic  possibilities  in  his 
subject  that  he  felt  as  if  he  would  gladly  begin  it  all  anew, 
while  he  felt  all  the  grief  that  the  loss  would  cause  the 
king.  With  these  conflicting  feelings  he  travelled  all 
Christmas  week,  and  finally  reached  Berlin  on  Sylvester 


•jf. 


STATUES    OF    QUEEN    LOUISE  69 

Day,  at  four  o'clock.  He  was  warmly  welcomed  at  Ber. 
lin,  and  great  was  the  excitement  about  the  captured 
monument  ;  but  on  the  seventh  of  January  came  the 
news  that  the  English  privateer  Eliza  had  taken  the 
American  ship,  that  the  monument  had  arrived  unharmed 
at  Cherbourg,  and  from  thence  had  been  carried  to  Jer- 
sey. It  arrived  in  Berlin  May  22  ;  and,  although  water  had 
penetrated  the  folds  on  the  bosom,  it  was  but  little  injured, 
and  was  taken  to  Charlottenburg  and  cleaned.  On  the 
thirtieth  of  May  the  scaffolding  was  knocked  away,  and 
almost  at  the  same  moment,  when,  after  its  troubled 
voyage,  the  beautiful  statue  of  the  queen  rested  in  the 
place  she  loved  so  well,  the  king  returned  from  the  Con- 
gress of  Vienna. 

That  very  evening,  as  he  was  busy  with  the  last  touches, 
Rauch  was  startled  by  the  word  that  the  king  was  coming 
with  his  family  to  see  the  statue.  He  drew  back,  not  to 
disturb  him  in  his  first  emotions. 

Charlottenburg,  built  by  Schliiuter  under  Friedrich  I., 
enlarged  by  Knobelsdorf  for  Frederic  the  Great,  has  a 
large  garden  extending  down  to  the  river  Spree.  Trees 
a  century  old  throw  their  shadows  over  the  broad  green 
meadows,  where  the  king  liked  to  pitch  his  tent,  and 
where  the  queen  had  so  loved  to  live  that  she  hoped  it 
would  be  her  last  resting-place.  An  avenue  of  dark  green 
firs  leads  down  to  this  favorite  place,  and  at  the  end  of 
this  walk  the  mausoleum  is  placed.  It  is  a  simple  Doric 
structure  of  dark-colored  granite,  on  the  steps  of  which 
are  vases  of  red  Hortensia,  the  queen's  favorite  flower. 

This  monument  was  not  to  minister  to  the  vanity,  but 
to  satisfy  the  heart-longing,  of  the  king,  and  hence  the 
simple  form  he  had  chosen. 

On  a  stand  lies  the  couch,  and  on  this  the  form  of  the 
queen.  She  does  not  lie  stretched  out  as  in  death,  but 
as  if  slumbering,  with  one  foot  softly  lying  over  the  other, 
her  arms  crossed  on  her  bosom,  and  her  head  gently 


7O  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

turned  to  one  side.  Only  the  diadem  in  her  hair  marks 
the  queen,  while  the  glory  just  perceptible  on  the  bier- 
cloth  shows  that  they  would  willingly  canonize  her  as  a 
saint. 

No  royal  robes,  but  a  softly  flowing  grass-cloth  lightly 
clothes  the  beautiful  limbs  down  to  the  feet.  In  this 
very  simplicity  the  artist  has  expressed  the  nobility  and 
grace  which  filled  her  life.  How  truly  he  has  preserved 
her  character  is  shown  by  the  deep  interest  which  the 
countenance  calls  forth  in  the  observer,  though  entirely  a 
stranger  to  her,  and  in  the  satisfaction  it  gave  to  the  one 
who  knew  her  best  and  loved  her  so  dearly. 

The  bier-cloth  is  ornamented  with  a  border  of  eagles 
and  crowns,  with  German  letters  forming  the  inscription, 
"  Louise  Konigin  von  Preussen." 

The  long  sides  have  a  field  of  arms,  of  which  one  shows 
the*Mecklenburg  buffalo,  the  other  the  Prussian  eagle. 
The  same  armorial  subject  is  repeated  in  the  candelabra. 
Both  are  alike  in  this,  but  the  one  finished  by  Tieck  shows 
the  three  Hours  in  relief,  symbolizing  life,  while  the  other, 
by  Rauch,  has  the  three  Fates,  indicating  death. 

The  king  visited  the  mausoleum  again  the  next  day  ;  but 
Rauch,  having  a  sick  headache,  waited  in  the  city,  and  the 
king  would  not  excite  him  until  he  was  better.  June  9 
he  invited  him  to  Charlottenburg,  and  gave  him  the  most 
complete  and  minute  expression  of  his  satisfaction,  both 
in  the  general  result,  and  in  every  detail  of  the  improve- 
ments he  had  made. 

The  crown  prince  was  equally  satisfied.  Schinkel  gave 
his  unqualified  approval ;  and  the  general  public,  while 
their  eyes  filled  with  tears  at  the  moving  beauty  of  expres- 
sion, "  did  not  fail  to  wonder  at  the  perfection  of  every 
feather  in  the  eagle's  wings." 

Although  others  were  entirely  delighted  with  the  mon- 
ument of  the  queen,  Rauch,  who  held  to  an  ideal  with 
extreme  tenacity,  was  never  wholly  satisfied.  Even  when 


STATUES    OF    QUEEN    LOUISE  /I 

working  on  the  first  statue,  he  had  a  longing  to  change 
the  model,  but  did  not  feel  at  liberty  to  do  so,  and  the 
thought  constantly  pursued  him.  In  1818  he  had  sought 
to  gratify  this  artistic  feeling  ;  and  after  his  work  on  the 
great  military  statues  was  finished,  he  felt  impelled  to 
take  up  anew  the  statue  of  the  queen,  who  might  rightly 
be  regarded  as  the  soul  and  inspiration  of  the  War  of 
Freedom. 

He  attempted  to  keep  this  work  secret  for  some  time, 
fearing  that  it  would  not  please  the  king,  but  visitors  to 
his  atelier  saw  it,  and  he  found  that  it  had  been  spoken 
of  in  Berlin.  He  therefore  confided  its  motive  and  his- 
tory to  Hofmarschall  von  Malzahn,  who  might  explain  it, 
if  the  king  should  hear  of  it. 

His  reason  for  secrecy  was  that  he  wished  to  work  out 
this  statue  in  artistic  independence,  unrestrained  even  by 
the  veto  of  one  who  had  commissioned  it.  He  could  not 
bear  to  give  up  this  subject  which  so  filled  his  heart  and 
mind,  and  whose  beauty  was  more  perfect  than  he  could 
hope  to  find  in  any  model.  So  strong  was  Rauch's  feel- 
ing for  the  beauty  of  the  human  form,  that  he  never  for- 
got one  that  had  impressed  his  imagination.  He  writes  to 
Tieck  once  of  having  seen  at  the  theatre  a  child,  perhaps 
ten  years  old,  of  such  exquisite  grace  and  beauty  that 
he  sits  in  his  room  lost  in  wonder  and  admiration 
while  thinking  of  her.  "  Never  in  my  life  have  I  passed 
such  an  evening,"  he  says;  "nothing  so  beautiful  ever 
affected  me  like  this  head,  now  and  then  looking  up  and 
down  in  changing  movement,  with  the  accompaniment  of 
the  little  hands  and  waving  locks."  —  "Years  afterwards," 
says  Eggers,  "  we  perchance  meet  these  waving  locks  in 
the  master's  works." 

The  thought  of  the  queen's  statue  was  ever  with  him, 
even  when  he  could  not  work  on  the  marble  itself.  He 
writes  from  Berlin  to  Carrara,  "  Is  there  not  marble 
enough  on  the  deltoid  of  the  queen's  statue  to  put  in  a 


72  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

fine  chemise  in  free  folds  ?  The  naked  shoulders  trouble 
me."  In  his  sense  of  full  freedom,  he  calls  this  the  first 
of  his  works  that  has  satisfied  him.  But  in  the  midst  of  his 
other  work  it  went  on  very  slowly.  In  March,  1820,  the 
marble  sketch  was  taken  to  Berlin  with  the  granite  bagna- 
role  bought  in  Rome,  but  not  until  four  years  after  was 
Rauch  able  to  put  his  hand  to  the  marble.  In  December 
of  that  year  he  writes,  "  In  eight  days  finished  the  head 
and  throat  in  marble."  Then  the  work  rests  again  for 
more  than  two  years. 

Then  an  event  which  overwhelmed  him  with  sorrow 
drove  him  to  his  chisel  for  consolation.1  He  had  rejoiced 
in  the  hope  that  his  daughter  Agnes  was  about  to  have  a 
happy  home  of  her  own.  Unexpectedly  came  the  dis- 
covery that  father  and  daughter  were  deceived  by  a  villain, 
and  all  her  hopes  were  blighted.  Rauch  found  comfort 
only  in  the  work  that  could  fill  his  whole  soul.  While  his 
assistants  worked  on  the  monuments,  he  shut  himself  up 
in  his  own  atelier,  and  labored  through  August  uninter- 
ruptedly in  the  completion  of  the  statue.  Gradually  he 
returned  to  other  things,  without  giving  this  up,  and  at 
the  end  of  November  he  could  note  "  the  entire  comple- 
tion of  this  very  detailed  marble  work." 

Dec.  I,  1827,  he  wrote  a  long  letter  to  the  king,  telling 
him  of  the  origin  of  his  work  on  the  statue,  and  the  spirit 
in  which  he  had  carried  out  his  idea.  He  points  out  that 
the  position  is  more  restful,  the  hands  more  natural,  and 
that  the  diligent  study  he  gave  to  the  first  model  has 
enabled  him  to  make  the  drapery  of  this  one  richer. 

Rauch  was  not  confident  of  the  effect  of  his  letter. 
He  asked  the  "  Hofmarschall  von  Malzahn  "  to  transmit 
it  to  the  king.  The  Marschall  wrote  him  that  he  had 
acquitted  himself  of  his  commission  to  the  best  of  his 
ability.  "The  king,"  he  said,  "was  at  first  taken  aback, 
then  he  went  over  everything  at  great  length,  and  finally 

»  See  Rauch  and  Goethe. 


STATUES    OF    QUEEN    LOUISE  73 

said,  '  I  might  say  to  you  that  he  would  come  to  see  the 
work,  but  he  could  not  deny  that  the  matter  surprised 
him  ;  and  it  was  astonishing  to  him  that  you  had  already 
prepared  the  statue  the  size  of  life.' ' 

We  cannot  wonder  at  the  momentary  reluctance  of  the 
king  to  accept  a  new  work.  The  first  statue  was  made 
under  his  supervision,  almost  with  his  help.  It  delighted 
him  and  satisfied  the  artists  of  his  court.  What  was  the 
criticism  that  proposed  changes  in  it  ?  It  seemed  to  ques- 
tion his  judgment.  Moreover,  having  been  made,  it  must 
belong  to  him  and  to  no  one  else,  and  yet  he  had  not 
asked  or  wished  for  it. 

Until  the  close  of  the  year  the  king  delayed  to  see  it. 
Only  the  queen's  son  and  brother  of  the  royal  family, 
and  Schadow  and  Wichmann  among  the  artists,  had  a 
private  view  of  it.  Rauch  was  in  a  painful  situation, 
because  the  secret  had  leaked  out  in  social  circles,  so  that 
William  von  Humboldt  advised  him  to  share  it  with  his 
brother  Alexander. 

But  when  the  king  at  last,  January  21,  came  to  the 
atelier,  the  work  itself  pleaded  for  the  artist.  The  king 
expressed  his  satisfaction,  and  Rauch  had  the  opportunity 
of  explaining  his  criticism  of  the  Charlottenburg  statue. 
The  king  gave  him  a  gracious  permission  to  make  a  need- 
ful journey  to  Nuremberg,  and  so  the  dreaded  interview 
passed  off  smoothly. 

On  his  return  from  Nuremberg,  the  placing  of  the 
statue  was  arranged  for,  by  a  royal  cabinet  order,  in  the 
"  Antique  Cabinet "  temple  in  the  new  palace  at  Potsdam, 
whose  former  contents,  collected  by  Frederic  the  Great, 
had  been  sent  to  the  museum  just  finished.  Rauch  was 
ill-pleased  with  the  place,  and  tried,  through  the  influence 
of  Prince  George  of  Mechlenburg-Strelitz,  to  have  the 
statue  placed  in  the  square  building  which  the  great  king 
had  built  for  a  cabinet  of  coins  for  his  own  private  use. 
This  request  was  granted  ;  but  he  was  not  allowed  to  open 


74  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

new  windows,  only  to  darken  disturbing  lights.  The 
monument  stands  now  in  a  simple  mausoleum,  an  octag- 
onal building  whose  lower  roof  rests  on  a  raised  platform 
under  the  beautiful  trees  of  the  castle  garden,  visible  even 
to  those  without  through  the  uncurtained  glass  doors. 
The  interior  room  is  simply  draped  with  dark  red  velvet, 
and  the  whole  lighted  by  a  window  opposite  the  door. 

In  comparing  the  two  statues,  Rauch  himself  claims 
more  grace,  dignity,  and  beauty  for  the  second  one,  so  that 
others,  as  well  as  connoisseurs,  would  at  once  recognize 
the  first  as  a  sketch,  and  the  second  as  a.  solution  of  the 
problem.  This  effect  is  reached  partly  by  richer  drapery, 
and  partly  by  the  more  perfect  action  of  the  form.  The 
drapery  is  in  freer  and  fuller  folds,  falling  even  to  the  tips 
of  the  feet.  But  "  the  deeper  distinction  between  the 
two  statues  lies  in  the  inward  movement  of  the  figure." 
This  is  seen  even  in  the  quiet,  death-like  slumber.  The 
general  attitude  of  the  statues  is  the  same.  The  upper 
part  of  the  body  is  slightly  raised  by  pillows,  the  head  is 
inclined  to  the  right,  the  hands  rest  one  upon  another  on 
the  breast,  and  the  right  leg  is  thrown  over  the  left. 
Both  forms  appear  to  be  in  sweet  slumber,  and  yet  the 
artist  makes  it  very  clear  that  it  is  the  sleep  of  death. 
"This,"  says  Dr.  Eggers,  "is  only  possible  when  the  per- 
fect cessation  of  all  muscular  activity,  which  cannot 
appear  anywhere  in  a  living  organism,  is  visible  every- 
where in  a  sleeping  form.  In  the  two  works  of  Rauch 
this  condition  exists  in  the  slight  stiffness  of  the  position 
of  the  upper  portion  of  the  body,  of  the  throat  and  hands. 
In  the  second  statue  the  head  bends  a  little  more  to  the 
right,  the  left  hand  leans  less  far  and  with  slighter  motion 
over  the  other,  and  the  right  foot  is  less  stiffly  crossed,  so 
that  the  tip  stands  higher,  by  these  slight  touches  bring- 
ing the  queen  a  little  nearer  to  life,  and  to  our  sympathetic 
feelings,  without  freeing  her  from  the  slumber  of  death, 
but  suggesting  the  possible  awakening." 


STATUES  OF  QUEEN  LOUISE  75 

Efforts  were  made  both  with  King  Friedrich  Wilhelm 
at  this  time,  and  with  his  successor  in  1846,  to  have  an 
antique  temple  built  to  contain  this  precious  memorial, 
but  the  stirring  political  events  of  the  time  prevented 
the  design  from  being  carried  into  execution. 

In  1853  Ranch  was  modelling  an  eagle  for  it,  and  later, 
in  1856,  Stiitzel  was  commissioned  to  prepare  a  sarcopha- 
gus ;  but  Rauch's  own  death,  as  well  as  political  disturb- 
ances, prevented  the  execution  of  the  design. 

Besides  these  full-length  statues,  Rauch  repeatedly 
modelled  the  bust  of  Queen  Louise  with  a  veil  or  garland, 
of  which  copies  were  distributed  to  many  of  the  princes 
and  noblemen  of  Europe. 

Some  persons  still  prefer  the  first  statue  at  Charlotten- 
burg.  It  is  more  accessible  to  people  from  Berlin,  and 
their  familiarity  with  it  endears  it  to  their  hearts. 

The  delight  of  the  people  in  this  statue  was  universal. 
Goethe  wrote  to  the  artist,  "  The  second  statue  of  the 
immortalized  queen  is  received  with  the  greatest  sympa- 
thy, and  the  undertaking,  memorable  in  many  aspects,  is 
crowned  with  universal  applause,  of  which  I  wish  you  joy 
from  my  heart ;  for  the  first  had  won  so  much  attachment, 
and  so  many  remembrances  clung  about  it,  that  it  is  say- 
ing much  if  the  new  statue  keeps  its  place  beside  it,  to 
say  nothing  of  its  being  preferred  to  it." 

It  always  remained  the  master's  darling  work,  which  he 
thought  of  again  and  again  with  new  interest.  The  king 
gave  him  a  gratuity  of  six  thousand  thalers  gold  out  of 
his  private  purse. 

In  fact,  this  beautiful  model  of  the  queen,  to  whom  he 
first  owed  his  artistic  success,  occupied  his  heart  and 
mind  through  the  whole  course  of  his  life,  from  the  time 
of  making  the  first  bust  in  1815  until  his  last  year  of  life, 
when  he  was  again  occupied  in  designing  for  it  a  suitable 
pedestal  and  surroundings,  which  we  hope  a  happy  future 
will  not  refuse  to  the  ancestress  of  the  German  Empire. 


76  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

Criticism  of  this  beautiful  work  is  needless.  It  is  the 
meeting-point  of  the  real  and  the  ideal.  It  has  won  its 
way  to  the  heart  of  the  world.  Republican  America  feels 
its  charm,  as  well  as  United  Germany.  "  The  earth  waits 
for  its  queen,"  said  Margaret  Fuller.  She  may  find  the 
prophecy  of  her  in  this  woman,  sovereign  by  purity,  intel- 
ligence, and  truth. 

The  artist  worked  not  with  his  brain  alone,  but  with  the 
full  glow  of  his  warm  and  grateful  heart ;  and  he  worked 
for  a  king  who  forgot  his  state  in  the  devoted  affection  of 
a  husband.  Nothing  is  more  touching  than  the  tenderness 
with  which  he  hung  upon  the  marble  image  of  his  lost 
love,  to  which  he  turned  for  consolation  amid  the  wreck  of 
his  fortunes  ;  and  his  faults  as  a  king  are  forgotten  by  us 
when  we  think  of  him  as  the  beloved  companion  of  this 
cherished  and  beautiful  woman. 


BERLIN    AND    LAGERHAUS  77 


CHAPTER   V 

BERLIN    AND    LAGERHAUS 
1815-1816 

BERLIN  at  this  time  was  full  of  joyous  activity.  Rauch 
was  warmly  welcomed,  not  only  by  the  royal  family,  but 
by  all  artists  and  friends.  Political  hopes  were  at  their 
height,  and  men's  minds  were  active  in  science,  litera- 
ture, and  architecture.  Rauch  led  a  merry,  social  life  with 
the  congenial  companions  he  found  in  Berlin.  He  dined 
weekly  with  the  crown  prince,  meeting  the  most  distin- 
guished military  men,  as  well  as  scholars  and  architects. 
He  dined  with  Schadow  every  Tuesday ;  and  he  never 
failed  at  the  select  circle  at  Burgsdorf,  where  after  politics 
were  settled  they  made  themselves  merry  with  gossip 
till  late  into  the  night.  He  supplied  the  print-shops  with 
trie-colored  caricatures  then  in  vogue,  in  which  Napoleon 
came  in  for  a  large  share  of  ridicule. 

He  was  busy  with  many  plans  of  work,  when  every- 
body was  startled  by  the  news  of  the  escape  of  Napoleon 
from  Elba  and  his  return  to  the  Tuilleries.  When  Rauch 
entered  the  rooms  of  Bliicher,  in  order  to  model  his  bust, 
he  found  that  no  peaceful  work  was  to  be  thought  of. 
The  rooms  were  already  the  headquarters  of  the  Prussian 
army,  and  the  hero  would  give  only  a  few  minutes  to  the 
work  of  the  sculptor.  When  Rauch  was  invited  to  dine 
with  him,  he  first  took  his  dinner  at  an  eating-house,  and 
employed  all  the  time  of  the  meal  in  work  on  the  bust, 
placing  himself  near  the  general  while  he  ate.  He  fin- 
ished the  likeness,  and  at  the  quiet  hour  of  coffee  went 


78  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH. 

over  it  again.  The  same  evening  came  the  order  for 
Blticher  to  .go  to  the  army.  On  the  tenth  of  April  the 
•  bust  was  finished.  Berlin  was  half  emptied  by  the  rush 
of  men  to  the  army,  and  Rauch  would  have  gone  with 
them  if  the  monument  of  the  queen  had  been  placed  in 
safety. 

He  followed  the  whole  course  of  the  campaign  of  the 
summer  of  1815  with  the  most  strained  interest,  seeing 
the  enlisted  men  and  volunteers  troop  through  his  city, 
where  the  crown  prince  held  a  perpetual  review  of  gleam- 
ing bayonets,  until,  on  St.  John's  Day,  when  twenty-four 
postilions  brought  the  news  from  -Waterloo  in  by  the 
Brandenburg  gate ;  and  the  next  day  all  Berlin  joined  in 
the  "Nun  danket  alle  Gott"  that  sounded  through  the 
cathedral.  Although  the  king  was  hurrying  off  to  the 
army,  he  gave  Rauch  one  or  two  sittings  for  his  bust,  still 
v  objecting  to  the  colossal  size. 

Although  the  king's  generosity  opened  the  way  for  his 
return  to  Italy,  it  was  a  long  time  before  Rauch  went 
thither ;  for  he  became  deeply  interested  not  only  in  many 
projects  of  his  own,  but  in  plans  for  the  general  further- 
ance of  art  in  his  own  country.  Sometimes  he  wished 
to  give  up  Carrara  altogether,  and  have  Tieck  with  him 
in  Berlin.  Then  he  planned  for  a  "  permanent  great  ate- 
lier, even  if  the  water  of  Carrara  did  not  run  under  its. 
windows." 

The  boldness  of  Napoleon  I.  in  coolly  appropriating 
the  works  of  art  of  all  European  nations,  to  bring  them 
together  in  Paris,  had  some  excellent  results.  As  soon  as 
peace  was  declared,  artists  and  connoisseurs  flocked  to  the 
French  capital  to  see  such  an  array  of  treasures  of  paint- 
ing and  sculpture  as  Europe  had  not  seen  before ;  and 
treasures,  before  known  to  but  few,  were  brought  to  the 
light  of  day.  Napoleon's  generals  certainly  showed  ex- 
cellent taste  in  their  selection.  In  1815  Berlin  had  an 
exhibition  of  the  restored  works  of  art,  and  the  result  of 


BERLIN    AND    LAGERHAUS  79 

it  was  the  recognition  of  the  need  of  a  museum,  in  which 
not  only  to  preserve  valuable  works  already  existing,  but 
to  stimulate  the  art  of  the  present  day. 

Ranch  was  intensely  interested  in  the  project,  and  took 
great  delight  in  the  acquisition  of  paintings,  as  well  as 
statues.  The  ministers  consulted  with  him  in  regard  to 
the  plans  for  the  foundation  and  support  of  the  museum, 
asking  him  on  his  return  to  Rome  to  point  out  the  statues 
and  reliefs  of  which  casts  could  be  obtained,  with  infor- 
mation as  to  their  cost.  I  will  not  here  follow  out  the  his- 
tory of  all  the  plans  which  were  proposed  at  this  busy  and 
exciting  time ;  but  it  is  of  great  interest  to  see  how  the  re- 
newed life  and  hope  of  the  nation  longed  to  express  itself 
in  art,  even  while  the  necessity  pressed  so  heavily  upon  it 
to  repair  the  damages  of  war.  Rauch  saw  his  future  be- 
fore him  as  master  of  a  large  atelier  with  workmen  and 
scholars,  and  he  longed  to  return  to  Carrara  and  go  on 
with  the  work  which  was  to  prepare  the  way  for  it.  He 
was  delayed  in  fulfilling  this  desire  by  the  great  number 
of  busts  that  were  demanded  of  him.  These  included 
generals,  physicians,  and  beautiful  women,  whose  friends 
longed  to  have  their  features  perpetuated  by  the  same 
hand  which  had  so  delicately  moulded  those  of  the  be- 
loved queen.  The  bust  of  Bliicher  became  so  popular 
that  forty  casts  were  made  of  it,  and,  the  mould  being  al- 
most worn  out,  Rauch  asked  permission  to  have  it  cast  in 
bronze  at  the  Royal  Foundery. 

Another  popular  hero  now  came  upon  the  scene. 
Rauch  writes  to  Tieck  an  eloquent  account  of  the  entry 
into  Berlin  of  Alexander  of  Russia,  and  refers  back  to  the 
early  time  when  he  accompanied  the  emperor  by  the 
king's  command  from  Memel  to  the  boundary,  and  saw 
his  first  meeting  with  the  king.  He  then  thought  the 
Emperor  looked  like  a  beautiful  brother  of  the  antique 
disk-thrower,  but  now  he  thinks  the  king  more  blooming 
even  than  he.  A  few  days  after  his  entry,  General  Oster- 


8O  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

mann  wrote  him  from  Leipzig  that  he  must  move  every 
stone  to  make  a  bust  of  the  emperor  for  him.  He  must 
follow  the  emperor  to  Warsaw,  even  to  the  bounds  of 
Russia  if  necessary.  Rauch  tried  to  enlist  the  king's  as- 
sistance, but  he  flatly  refused  to  urge  his  imperial  guest. 
He  even  said  to  Alexander,  "  Look  out  for  him ;  he  makes 
everybody  colossal."  The  sight  of  the  queen's  monu- 
ment at  Charlottenburg  first  gave  the  emperor  the  idea 
that  his  former  attendant  at  Tilsit  amounted  to  some- 
thing ;  and  he  consented  to  give  him  a  sitting  of  an  hour 
and  a  half,  during  which  the  emperor  wrote  despatches. 
The  emperor  was  very  gracious  to  the  artist,  and  the  like- 
ness was  pronounced  satisfactory. 

This  close  study  of  life  in  portraiture  was  very  interest- 
ing to  Rauch  ;  but  in  the  presence  of  life  he  felt  the  short- 
comings of  his  art,  and  he  longed  for  a  renewed  sight  of 
the  antique.  He  found  help  in  the  beautiful  statue  of 
Hygaeia  in  Charlottenburg,  which  he  modelled  in  clay 
after  his  day's  work  was  over. 

It  was  this  conviction  that  he  had  something  to  learn 
which  would  complete  his  preparation  for  his  life-work  in 
art,  that  drew  him  back  to  Italy,  in  spite  of  the  charms  of 
his  life  at  Berlin,  where  he  had  all  the  delights  of  friend- 
ship and  society  and  abundant  employment. 

One  of  the  busts  that  troubled  him  most  was  that  of 
the  Frau  Hofmarschall  von  Maltzahn,  a  face  of  pure  life 
and  friendliness,  "  and  one  cannot  make  laughing  busts," 
he  said. 

The  rush  for  busts  continued ;  he  had  a  dozen  models 
to  take  to  Carrara  with  him.  Meantime,  Tieck,  busy  in 
carrying  on  the  work  at  Carrara,  was  seized  with  despair 
at  his  own  bungling  work,  as  he  expresses  it,  in  compari- 
son with  that  of  Rauch.  He  lays  down  the  chisel  with 
which  he  was  making  a  repetition  of  the  eagle  for  the 
sarcophagus  of  the  queen,  and  declares  that  he  must  wait 
until  Rauch  comes ;  while  Rauch  confesses  that  he  is 


BERLIN    AND    LAGERHAUS  8 I 

always  plaguing  himself  to  reach  the  grace  and  ideality 
which  Tieck  gave  to  his  work. 

Rauch  was  at  last  allowed  to  depart  on  the  seventh  of 
July,  1816.  The  journey  was  delightful,  although  solitary. 
Free  from  pressing  cares,  yet  with  his  mind  full  of  great 
plans  for  the  future,  both  for  himself  and  for  art,  he  could 
give  himself  to  the  enjoyment  of  nature,  even  while  he 
looked  forward  to  a  life  of  earnest  and  honorable  activity. 
He  always  looked  back  to  this  journey  as  a  sunny  spot  in 
his  life. 

Rauch  found  on  his  return  to  Italy  that  the  revisiting 
of  great  works  of  art  is  a  means  of  measuring  one's  own 
artistic  progress.  He  is  full  of  enthusiasm,  and  declares 
himself  "  mad  with  delight "  over  the  Vatican  Museum. 
He  writes  to  Tieck,  "  Heaven  can  hardly  grant  to  the 
blessed  greater  joys  than  are  given  by  such  works  as  the 
Torso,  the  Apollo,  the  Laocoon,  and  the  Mercury,  and 
still  more  the  Venus  of  the  Tribune,  which  are  my  newest 
experiences.  I  saw  to-day  for  the  first  time  the  Trans- 
figuration and  the  Madonna  del  Foligno.  But  why  do  I 
speak  to  you  of  them  ?  How  grieved  I  am  that  you  are 
deprived  of  them,  and  I  of  you  with  them."  He  goes 
everywhere,  and  revisits  the  old  places,  and  remarks  that 
he  has  taken  the  minimum  size,  which  the  ancients  ever 
employed  on  monuments,  for  the  Berlin  statues. 

He  finds  Thorwaldsen  busy  with  his  Adonis ;  and  he 
remarks  upon  it  how  little  the  workman  has  to  do  with 
the  statue,  and  how  the  artist's  own  hand  must  be  every- 
where. 

He  has  an  interesting  correspondence  with  Schinkel  in 
regard  to  the  desired  purchase  of  the  Boisseree  collection ; 
but  I  must  pass  over  much  which  does  not  relate  to  his 
personal  life. 

In  July  he  was  again  at  work  at  Carrara.  Everything 
speaks  for  the  unusual  regard  in  which  he  was  held  both 
at  home  and  abroad. 


$2  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

On  his  return  to  Berlin,  Rauch  accomplished  the  reali- 
zation of  his  long-cherished  plan  of  a  great  royal  atelier 
for  sculpture,  which  should  not  only  facilitate  his  own 
work,  but  become  a  permanent  institution  of  the  country. 
Schinkel  had  prepared  a  grand  plan  for  such  a  building, 
which  perhaps  delayed  its  accomplishment.  Rauch  hoped 
it  would  be  built  during  his  two  years'  stay  in  Rome,  but 
it  was  not,  and  Humboldt  advised  him  not  to  return  to 
Berlin  until  the  atelier  was  ready  for  him.  But  in  the 
spring  of  1818  State  Councillor  Schutz  wrote  to  him  that 
he  'thought  that  his  presence  was  necessary  to  advance 
the  work.  Since  the  Schinkel  plan  was  not  carried  out 
they  must  find  another  place ;  and  in  May,  Bussler  an- 
nounces that  this  was  found  in  the  Klosterstrasse,  in  a 
former  storehouse. 

This  Lagerhaus,  still  standing,  and  still  so  called,  is  a 
solid,  plain  building  erected  in  the  fourteenth  century  to 
serve  as  a  fortress  for  the  elector.  When  the  Elector 
Frederic  II.  built  himself  a  castle  at  Cologne,  the  then 
so-called  "  high-house  "  was  given  as  a  fortress  to  knights 
of  prominent  families.  Under  the  Great  Elector  it  was 
the  residence  of  the  governor.  Frederic  established  an 
academy  for  knights  there,  which  was  given  up  in  1712. 
Since  1713  the  house  has  borne  its  present  name,  because 
in  it  the  Privy  Councillor  Kraut  established  a  depot  for 
wool,  which  was  given  out  to  cloth  manufacturers,  who 
returned  it  in  cloths.  Later,  a  very  considerable  manu- 
facture of  fine  and  regimental  cloths  was  there  carried  on, 
with  a  dye-house,  and  residences  for  the  overseers  and 
master-workmen. 

Rauch  was  rather  discouraged  when  he  saw  this  old 
building,  and  found  how  much  was  to  be  done  to  put  it  in 
order,  and  to  get  a  proper  light.  He  thought  of  it  as  only 
temporary,  and  laid  before  the  king  a  plan  for  a  new  build- 
ing on  the  Wilhelmsstrasse.  He  got  no  encouragement, 
however,  and  could  not  send  for  his  Italian  workmen 
before  the  spring. 


BERLIN    AND    LAGERHAUS  83 

Meantime,  Tieck  writes  him  how  impatient  they  all  are 
to  set  out  for  Berlin,  and  how  Gaetano  and  Giuseppe  are 
studying  the  language  with  grammar  and  dictionary  to  be 
ready  for  the  journey. 

His  artist  friends  were  longing  to  join  him  ;  he  was 
eager  to  go  to  work,  and  yet  he  had  no  place  to  begin. 
Even  the  friendly  welcome  he  received  increased  his 
unrest,  for  he  felt  that  he  was  doing  nothing  to  justify  it. 
Great  works  are  planned  for  the  new  square  of  the  Opera 
House.  Where  are  his  Billow  and  Scharnhorst,  which 
were  from  the  beginning  destined  for  it  ? 

He  misses  Tieck,  the  careful,  orderly  friend,  who 
smoothes  every  difficulty  ;  and  Tieck  misses  him  when 
he  wants  the  quick,  resolute  blow  of  the  chisel  to  finish 
the  work.  "  Work  goes  on  quickly  where  Rauch  is  ;  the 
farther  off  he  is,  the  more  it  lags."  Tieck  longed  to  be 
in  Berlin,  Rauch  pined  for  the  quiet  work  of  Carrara : 
they  needed  to  be  together  and  to  help  each  other. 

Dannecker  asks  him  to  procure  marble  for  some  of  his 
works.  Rauch  took  great  pains  to  fulfil  the  commission  ; 
and  Dannecker  "jumps  with  joy,  like  a  boy,"  over  his 
letter.  He  makes  the  acquaintance  of  the  French 
painter,  Wach,  who  was  thoroughly  instructed  in  the 
French  methods,  of  which  Rauch  says,  "  It  is  not  easy 
to  see  so  excellent  studies  anywhere  else."  Even  the 
French  painters  in  Rome  spoke  with  high  respect  of 
Rauch,  and  pitied  him  "  that  he  had  the  misfortune  to  be 
a  German."  Rauch  had  refused  to  let  his  home  and 
atelier  to  any  one  else,  but  he  now  allowed  Wach  to  have 
the  dwelling-house.  Tieck  and  Rauch  went  to  meet  him 
and  Humboldt  at  Florence,  but  unfortunately  arrived  too 
late.  They  consoled  themselves,  however,  in  the  closer 
studies  of  the  pictures,  statues,  and  churches  in  Florence 
and  Lucca.  Eight  times  Rauch  made  little  trips  to  Flor- 
ence, Rome,  and  Pisa  to  keep  himself  acquainted  with  all 
that  was  being  done  in  art. 


84  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

The  early  part  of  this  century  saw  that  battle  between 
the  classic  and  the  romantic,  one  phase  of  the  eternal 
balancing  of  the  old  and  the  new,  the  spiritual  and  the 
natural,  which  ran  into  every  department  of  thought,  lit- 
erature, and  art.  While  Rauch  never  was  an  extreme 
partisan  of  either  school,  he  was  yet  deeply  interested  in 
every  phase  of  this  question  ;  and  his  admirable  grasp  of 
the  spirit  of  classic  studies,  with  his  vivid  interest  in  the 
political  struggles  and  intellectual  life  of  his  own  day, 
gave  him  that  true  sense  of  historic  art  which  comes 
from  not  confining  interest  to  any  one  nation,  but  which 
makes  itself  felt  by  all  who  understand  the  expression  of 
human  passions  and  actions. 

Koch  and  Thorwaldsen  stood  on  the  side  of  classic  art ; 
and  the  figure  of  Hope  which  the  latter  modelled,  after 
his  studies  in  restoring  the  ^Eginetan  marbles,  is  in  strong 
archaic  style. 

The  painters  who  went  back  to  Fra  Fiesole  formed  a 
colony  in  the  cloister  of  San  Isidore,  and  Overbeck  was 
the  leader  of  this  movement.  Rauch  gives  generous  and 
discriminating  praise  to  both  Cornelius  and  Overbeck. 

A  separation  between  the  Catholic  and  Protestant  influ- 
ences had  already  become  inevitable,  and  now  the  division 
was  between  Nazareth  and  Paganism.  In  the  spring  of 
1817  the  Nazarenes  kept  the  birthday  of  Albert  Diirer. 
Diirer  was  honored  as  Christ,  Raphael  as  Madonna.  Wach 
expresses  himself  freely  over  this  "profanation,"  as  Rauch 
calls  it.  He  writes,  "  Thou  great  worthy  soul  of  the  im- 
mortal Albert  Durer,  one  shall  not  so  mock  thee  ;  thou 
sawest  so  far  about  thee  as  thy  clear  eye  permitted  ;  thou 
knewest  nothing  of  such  wilful  narrowness.  With  discre- 
tion and  true  modesty  wouldst  thou  consider  what  the  art 
of  the  time  produced,  prove  all,  and  keep  what  is  good, 
and  always  turn  again  with  reverence  to  the  inexhaustible 
and  ever  new  nature,  and  alone  in  her  seek  to  divine  the 
great  wo'rld-soul.  This  monkish  intolerance  goes  mortally 


BERLIN    AND    LAGERHAUS  8$ 

against  me,  as  this  wholesale  contempt  of  all  which  does 
not  resemble  their  imaginary  fixed  idea.  What  woful 
poverty  !  What  blindness  for  the  great  miracles  of  the 
world  of  nature  !  What  narrowness  where  all  should 
strive  after  the  highest  and  noblest  freedom  !  Can  the 
German  never  be  original  ?  Shall  the  yoke  of  imitation 
always  oppress  them,  even  in  the  time  of  their  greatest 
and  most  significant  national  uprising  ? " 

The  tendency  of  the  painters,  poets,  and  even  archi- 
tects, to  go  over  to  the  Roman  Church  was  very  marked. 
From  this  faith  they  gained  the  charm  of  mysticism,  the 
rich  storehouse  of  legendary  art,  and  the  noble  style  of 
church  architecture.  Greek  art  had  exalted  the  human 
body  as  capable  of  expressing  all  that  is  divine  in  gods 
and  men.  But  Christianity  prefers  painting,  which  lends 
itself  more  freely  to  ecstasy  and  sentiment.  So  the  sculp- 
tors did  not  readily  yield  to  the  tendency  towards  the 
Romish  Church.  A  zealous  friend  wrote  to  Rauch,  and 
sent  him  books  assuring  him  that  his  salvation  was  in 
danger.  Rauch  put  the  letter  among  his  papers  and 
scarcely  spoke  of  it  to  any  one. 

While  Rome  was  full  of  good  painters  whose  names  are 
still  dear  to  us,  as  Cornelius  and  Overbeck,  Schnorr;  von 
Carolsfeld,  Philipp  Veit,  Karl  Eggers,  and  others,  the  only 
Italian  painter  of  that  time  to  be  named  was  Camuccini, 
whom  Dr.  Eggers  calls  "the  last  Italian  painter."  The 
new  school  belonged  to  the  Germans. 

These  artists  were  deeply  impressed  with  the  impor- 
tance of  the  mission  of  Germany,  which  was  to  conquer 
Rome  in  art,  as  her  hordes  had  anciently  overcome  it  in 
war ;  and  no  wonder  that  the  coming  of  the  young  prince, 
whose  whole  soul  was  devoted  to  the  fostering  of  art, 
seemed  to  them  a  presage  of  success.  Rauch  came  to 
Rome,  April  30,  1818,  just  in  time  to  take  part  in  the 
celebration  of  the  birthday  of  the  Crown  Prince  of  Bavaria. 
Excepting  ladies,  the  guests  were  exclusively  artists, 


86  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

ninety-seven  in  number,  and  all  Germans.  For  the  mo- 
ment all  jealousies  were  forgotten.  Though  the  time  for 
preparation  had  been  short,  astonishing  results  were  pre- 
sented in  allegorical  representations,  and  all  felt  that  the 
triumphs  of  Germany  thus  portrayed  were  really  to  be 
carried  out  on  the  grand  stage  of  her  art.  The  prince 
seemed  the  happiest  of  the  guests.  As  he  took  leave  of 
them,  he  gave  the  last  pressure  of  his  hand  to  Karl  Fohr. 
"We  shall  see  each  other  again,"  he  cried;  "we  belong  to 
each  other."  Two  months  later  the  body  of  the  unfortu- 
nate young  artist  was  drawn  out  of  the  Tiber.  Rauch  was 
exerting  himself  to  introduce  the  talented  young  man  to 
Humboldt,  and  his  letters  echo  the  thrill  of  sorrow  that 
ran  through  the  whole  artistic  world. 

In  Thorwaldsen's  studio  Rauch  thought  his  last  work, 
"Mercury  killing  Argus,"  the  boldest  and  most  beautiful 
of  his  designs,  the  purest  flower  of  his  genius.  He  was 
delighted  with  the  triumphs  of  his  contemporaries,  but 
he  turned  again  to  the  antique  with  fresh  enthusiasm. 

He  went  to  Naples,  Padua,  and  Venice,  and  was  deeply 
interested  in  the  art  of  Mantegna  and  other  Italians  ;  but 
he  did  not  keep  so  full  a  note-book  as  formerly,  and  his 
journey  was  a  very  hurried  one.  He  returned  well  and 
happy  to  Berlin,  July  28. 

Among  the  works  which  had  occupied  Rauch  during 
the  time  of  his  absence  from  Berlin,  were  the  candelabra 
which  a  French  gentleman  had  commissioned  him  to  make 
in  commemoration  of  the  rising  in  La  Vendee.  Schinkel 
assisted  him  in  making  the  designs,  and  they  were  very 
elaborate.  The  base  was  to  be  formed  of  lion-skins,  and 
the  shields  of  those  honored  in  the  war.  He  left  the  exe- 
cution of  them  very  much  to  Tieck. 

One  of  the  light-bearers  represents  mourning,  the  other 
the  joy  of  victory,  and  half-concealed  female  figures  bear 
urns  in  their  hands  inscribed  with  the  names  of  those  who 
had  taken  part  in  the  struggle.  They  were  to  be  eight 
feet  high. 


BERLIN    AND    LAGERHAUS  8/ 

Rauch  does  not  quite  like  to  have  these  candelabra  go- 
to France,  and  wishes  he  might  repeat  them  for  Berlin, 
only  he  would  make  them  three  times  as  high !  This  boy- 
ish ebullition  of  patriotism  is  indicative  of  the  state  of 
feeling  in  Prussia.  He  closes  to  Schinkel,  "  Don't  laugh 
over  my  marble  projects,  and  let  us  cherish  the  pride  of 
believing  that  these  carved  stones  will  point  out  in  the 
future  where  men  lived  and  fashioned  the  true  and  the 
beautiful."  The  life  of  Rauch's  art  is  in  that  sentence. 

After  more  than  a  year's  work  the  candelabra  finally 
went  to  Hamburg  in  twenty-four  chests,  and  from  thence 
were  shipped  to  Paris.  Here  they  found  recognition  and 
applause  in  the  art  exhibition  of  1824.  But  owing  to  the 
various  changes  and  revolutions  in  France,  these  monu- 
ments never  found  their  place,  and  it  is  not  known  where 
the  chests  containing  them  are  hidden.  All  that  we  have 
is  a  drawing  of  Schinkel's  sketches,  and  a  plaster  cast  in 
the  Rauch  Museum  representing  the  forms  of  women  in 
triumph. 

Another  plan  which  occupied  Rauch's  mind  was  a  full- 
length  statue  of  the  king.  In  regard  to  this,  the  question 
of  modern  costume  arose  which  became  so  important. 
A  bust  of  the  Princess  Charlotte,  afterwards  Empress  of 
Russia,  is  mentioned  for  the  peculiar  turn  of  the  head, 
bringing  almost  a  three-quarters'  view  when  seen  in  front, 
which  characterizes  the  early  bust  work  of  the  master. 
He  also  put  the  bust  of  Thorwaldsen  in  marble.  It  has 
no  drapery  but  the  beautiful  flowing  .hair,  which  is  han- 
dled with  great  skill.  "The  charm  of  Thorwaldsen's  face," 
says  Dr.  Eggers,  "was  the  blue  eye  and  the  childlike, 
friendly  look,  which  gave  something  divinely  inspired  ta 
the  whole  expression.  Rietschel  had  something  of  its  in- 
ward friendliness."  To  express  this,  Rauch  for  the  first 
time  opened  the  eye,  indicating  the  pupil,  as  he  frequently 
did  afterwards.  As  a  change  from  the  realism  of  por- 
traiture, Rauch  took  up  again  the  bass-relief  of  "Jason  going 


88  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

in  search  of  the  Golden  Fleece,"  and,  after  making  some 
changes,  cast  it  in  plaster.  It  is  in  the  Rauch  Museum. 
The  busts  of  Scharnhorst  and  Prince  Blucher  were  made 
for  the  Walhalla.  Marble  busts  of  the  three  allied  mon- 
archs,  King  Frederic  William  III.,  and  the  Emperors 
Francis  Joseph  and  Alexander  of  Russia,  were  finished 
in  May,  1818,  for  the  Minister  von  Stein.  Besides  many 
other  busts,  the  models  of  the  statues  of  Von  Biilow  and 
Scharnhorst  were  made  in  Carrara  in  1818.  The  head  of 
Scharnhorst  was  modelled  after  a  picture  by  a  painter, 
and  a  little  profile  drawing  by  an  amateur.  There  was  not 
even  a  death-mask. 

While  this  work  was  going  on,  Rauch  had  turned  his 
thoughts  to  the  statue  of  Blucher.  Silesia  had  already 
made  a  movement  to  secure  this  statue ;  and  Rauch,  on 
hearing  of  it,  had  written  to  the  Countess  Brandenberg 
to  secure  it  for  Tieck.  She  herself,  however,  was  fully 
decided  that  Rauch  should  make  the  statue,  while  other 
influential  persons  wished  to  give  the  commission  to 
Rudolf  Schadow.  The  princess  proposed  a  concurrence, 
which  she  thought  would  stimulate  artistic  production, 
and  even  Thorwaldsen  was  applied  to  for  a  sketch.  On 
the  twentieth  of  March,  1818,  Rauch  sent  sketches  for  the 
statue  to  Breslau.  The  great  warrior  is  conceived  as 
"  Marshal  Forwards."  But  it  is  with  a  noble,  firm  step 
that  he  is  represented  as  moving  onwards.  "  It  is  almost 
possible,"  says  Dr.  Eggers,  "to  prefer  this  sketch  to  the 
one  finally  executed  at  Breslau." 

A  glance  into  Rauch's  workshop  at  Carrara  would  show 
how  closely  Sculpture,  on  its  material  side,  is  allied  to 
Architecture,  Mechanics,  and  Business,  and  how  neces- 
sary practical  sagacity  and  sound  judgment  are  to  the 
success  of  the  artist  who  undertakes  great  monumental 
works.  Besides  the  thorough  acquaintance  with  the 
materials  of  clay,  stone,  marble,  bronze,  etc.,  which  are 
indispensable  to  the  sculptor,  and  the  direction  and 


BERLIN    AND    LAGERHAUS  89 

control  of  numerous  workmen,  the  mere  keeping  of 
accounts,  and  making  contracts  on  a  large  scale,  is  a 
work  of  no  little  responsibility. 

Rauch  writes  to  Lund,  "  I  assure  you  that  I  seldom- 
pass  an  evening  without  being  busied  at  least  two  hours, 
or  often  the  whole  time,  with  accounts  and  correspond- 
ence." A  busy  scene  was  the  workshop  under  the  man- 
agement of  Tieck,  who  was  eminently  fitted  for  the 
position.  Here  Rauch  found  many  of  the  workmen  who 
were  afterwards  his  helpers  in  his  atelier.  "  Giuseppe, 
the  son  of  Lazzarini,  must  hew  out  of  the  rough,  and 
sketch ;  Ceccardo  goes  from  bust  to  bust  and  points  ;  now 
steps  Lazzarini  in  with  the  file;  here  helps  Tieck,  who  him- 
self makes  the  eyes,  or  goes  over  what  Lazzarini  has  not 
brought  out  delicately  enough  :  the  borer  is  Solari,  and 
he  also  must  make  the  hair ;  Tevi  must  polish  bust  after 
bust  ;  Gaetano  belongs  to  the  finishers  ;  Baba  is  the 
plinth-maker;  but  the  young  Cechino  writes  the  names 
thereon.  He  has  a  specially  fine  hand  for  the  ornamen- 
tal, and  must  make  the  stars  on  the  breast,  the  oak-leaf 
embroidery  on  the  collar,  the  eagle  on  the  mantle  of 
Alexander,  even  the  little  tassels,  when  the  others  have 
cut  them  out  too  stiffly.  Gaetano's  son,  the  young  and 
bright  Franceschino,  travels  with  the  master,  and  wins 
great  praise  from  him,  so  that  he  takes  him  to  Berlin." 

The  relation  to  Tieck,  which  has  sometimes  been  made 
a  reproach  to  Rauch,  was  a  union  between  two  different 
natures,  which,  working  in  harmony,  admirably  completed 
each  other ;  but  Rauch  was  inevitably  the  bold,  vigorous 
leader,  while  the  other  was  the  careful,  painstaking  execu- 
tor of  the  work.  At  times  Tieck  longed  for  a  more  inde- 
pendent position,  but  he  had  not  the  courage  to  seize  upon 
it  when  it  was  offered.  Rauch  used  every  effort  to  per- 
suade him  to  accept  the  professorship  at  Diisseldorf, 
which  would  have  been  an  advantageous  position,  as  lead- 
ing to  still  higher  employment,  and  also  very  beneficial 


QO  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

to  German  education  in  art  ;  but  Tieck  shrank  from  the 
difficulties  of  the  position  and  the  exertion  necessary  to 
secure  it.  Rauch  was  delighted  to  retain  him  as  his 
co-worker  at  Carrara,  Berlin,  and  Rome  ;  and  when  he 
let  his  workshop  to  Rudolf  Schadow,  he  made  the  express 
condition  that  Tieck  should  have  a  room  in  it.  Tender 
and  sympathetic  in  his  nature,  he  entered  into  all  the 
interests  and  pleasures  of  the  workmen,  and  kept  the 
inner  life  of  the  atelier  harmonious,  while  Rauch  arranged 
the  outer  and  larger  part  of  the  work.  Dr.  Eggers  com- 
pares them  to  a  married  couple,  Tieck  being  the  good 
housewife,  who  cares  for  all  the  economies  of  the  common 
welfare,  engages  the  servants,  and  makes  all  around  her 
pleasant  and  happy,  living  with  the  more  active  master 
in  perfect  concord  and  understanding. 

Rauch  evidently  suffered  from  depression  at  this  time. 
It  was  probably  the  reaction  from  his  crowded  and  excit- 
ing life  of  work.  Tieck  writes  him  consolingly,  "  Who  is 
there  in  Germany  who  does  not  speak  your  name  with  a 
kind  of  reverence,  and  rejoice  in  your  personal  acquaint- 
ance ? "  He  had  great  delight  in  his  little  daughter, 
enjoying  her  sports  and  caresses ;  but  how  much  his 
heart,  so  open  to  the  charms  of  domestic  life  as  he  had 
seen  it  in  his  friend  Humboldt's  family,  must  have  felt 
the  want  of  a  true,  well-ordered  home  with  an  honored 
and  beloved  wife,  which  the  artist  above  all  men  needs,  to 
balance  the  excitement  of  his  work !  This  anxiety  and 
restlessness  at  last  laid  him,  in  November,  on  a  sick-bed, 
ill  with  nervous  fever. 

He  was  sleepless  from  restlessness  and  impatience. 
Kohlrausch  and  Hufeland  attended  him  ;  and  Frances- 
chino,  with  the  peculiar  gift  of  Italians  for  personal  ser- 
vice, made  an  excellent  nurse. 

Tieck's  weekly  letter  from  the  workshop,  bringing 
violets  which  Teresina  had  plucked,  lay  unread.  Finally, 
on  the  twelfth  of  December,  he  wrote  to  Tieck  from  his 


BERLIN    AND    LAGERHAUS  91 

bed  that  they  were  working  day  and  night  on  the  Lager- 
haus,  to  get  ready  the  two  large  ateliers  and  the  small 
one,  a  dwelling  for  himself  and  his  people,  and  a  lodging- 
house  for  Tieck.  A  relapse  followed,  and  he  was  not  able 
to  write  again  until  Christmas.  He  was  much  emaciated, 
and  the  sense  of  want  of  vigor  in  his  formerly  stately 
form  brings  out  tears  of  pain. 

Tieck  wrote  every  Sunday ;  but  as  his  letters  were 
fifteen  days  on  the  way,  it  was  long  before  the  echo  of 
Rauch's  sickness  came  back.  Then  he  cries,  "  For  God's 
sake  calm  your  mind ;  it  is  worrying  that  has  brought  you 
low."  He  writes  of  affairs,  and  says  he  will  be  very 
careful,  and  buy  no  clothes,  and  will  not  go  to  Leghorn 
and  Pisa.  He  reminds  him  how  much  money  will  be  coming 
in  in  the  summer  for  busts,  and  closes  with,  "Would  to 
God  that  I  were  with  you.  If  I  had  the  means  I  would 
leave  everything  and  set  off  this  night  and  travel  night 
and  day  until  I  reached  you." 

But  now  happiness  and  enjoyment  began  to  return. 
When  the  crown  prince  heard  of  the  sickness  of  the 
master,  he  ordered  that  everything  should  be  sent  him 
from  his  table  ;  and  now  when  Rauch  could  again  sleep 
and  eat,  he  could  choose  among  the  freshest  and  sweetest 
viands.  Strengthening  baths  were  taken,  and  he  looked 
forward  to  a  ride  on  the  ninth  of  January. 

As  soon  as  he  counted  himself  well,  he  turned  vigor- 
ously to  the  establishment  of  his  finances,  sending  urgent 
letters  to  the  princely  patrons  for  whom  he  had  made 
busts,  and  resolving  that  he  would  never  take  a  commis- 
sion for  a  bust  again,  except  on  condition  of  prepayment 
of  one-half  the  price  ;  for  he  holds  it  unjust  to  keep  an 
artist  waiting  three  years  for  an  outlay  of  three  hundred 
thalers,  "to  produce  sharp  noses."  He  orders  the  com- 
pletion of  his  statue  of  yEsculapius  at  Carrara,  as  an 
honorarium  to  his  physician  Kohlrausch.  He  is  full  of 
delight  over  an  Arab  horse  lately  brought  from  Con- 


92  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

stantinople,  having  in  mind  Apollo  with  his  chariot  for 
Schinkel's  theatre.  Finding  that  not  a  stone  is  touched 
for  the  atelier,  he  begins  a  series  of  strong,  business-like 
letters  to  the  Oberfinanzrath  Rothe,  who  begs  him  to  be 
patient  four  or  five  days  longer,  and  to  leave  all  to  him. 

Some  relief  from  this  wearisome  condition  was  found 
in  a  journey  to  Breslau.  He  was  invited  thither  to  a 
conference  of  the  Monument  Commission  on  the  sixth 
of  October,  when  many  noblemen  and  landed  proprietors 
would  assemble  there.  He  went  somewhat  earlier,  partly 
to  work  on  the  bass-reliefs,  and  also  to  visit  the  Prieborne 
marble  quarries,  which  had  begun  to  attract  attention. 

Rauch  at  this  time  felt  a  little  anxious  about  his  own 
finances,  and  his  journey,  which  required  a  new  travelling- 
carriage  costing  two  hundred  and  twenty-three  thalers,  did 
not  seem  likely  to  improve  them.  But  he  put  care  behind 
him  as  he  began  to  feel  the  wonted  charm  of  travelling  ; 
and  his  first  great  enjoyment  was  in  passing  a  whole  day 
with  Ludwig  Tieck  in  Ziebingen,  near  Frankfort.  Rauch 
indeed  knew  him  less  as  an  author  than  as  the  brother  of 
his  dear  friend,  but  he  found  great  delight  in  his  conver- 
sation, and  his  pure  and  delicate  feeling  for  art. 

He  reached  Breslau  on  the  eleventh,  and  dwelt  in  the 
house  of  Herr  von  Stein.  On  the  thirtieth  he  was  pre- 
sented to  General  York,  that  he  might  model  his  head. 
The  general  received  him  at  a  handsome  breakfast,  and 
Rauch  was  much  impressed  by  his  energy  and  power. 

On  the  fourth  of  October  the  conference  in  regard  to 
the  Bliicher  monument  took  place.  It  was  agreed  with 
Baron  von  Stein  and  Langhans  that,  in  order  to  show  the 
plan  of  the  monument,  a  pedestal  should  be  made  of 
boards,  and  a  figure  of  canvas  and  pasteboard  should  be 
painted.  This  shows  how  little  the  men  of  that  time  were 
accustomed  to  the  erection  of  statues. 

While  modelling  the  bust  of  the  Duke  of  York,  Rauch 
made  some  interesting  observations  on  the  difficulty  of 


BERLIN    AND    LAGERHAUS  93 

modelling  any  one  part  of  a  man  without  the  rest.  This 
is  characteristic  :  he  saw  things  in  wholes,  in  the  mutual 
relation  of  their  parts,  and  the  trunk  and  limbs  are  as 
expressive  as  the  face.  He  says,  "  I  have  completed  this 
head  in  four  days,  but  I  could  have  done  it  better  in  two, 
if  it  had  been  on  a  statue  ;  it  is  so  much  easier  to  fit  the 
right  expression  to  the  action,  and  bring  it  out,  even  from 
the  beginning,  while  a  bust  must  be  attacked  in  general, 
and  so  becomes  insignificant." 

He  carefully  investigated  the  Prieborne  quarries,  and  in 
his  letters  to  Tieck  gives  full  particulars  of  the  quality  of 
the  marble.  He  earnestly  desired  to  find  in  his  own 
fatherland  the  materials  for  work ;  but  he  feels  that  he 
cannot  wait  for  the  development  of  the  stone-work  here, 
but  must  return  to  Carrara.  Yet  full  of  impatience  and 
many  cares  as  he  was  at  this  time,  for  he  felt  a  stress  for 
money  which  was  unusual  with  him,  he  neither  loses  sight 
of  the  Congress  at  Aix-la-Chapelle,  nor  of  the  potato 
harvest  in  Carrara,  which  had  been  arranged  according  to 
German  methods.  And,  in  spite  of  his  empty  pockets,  he 
must  send  to  England  for  the  "  Stuart  and  Revett,"  which 
he  wants.  The  book  cost  over  a  hundred  and  fifty-five 
thalers,  but  it  was  a  treasury  of  the  best  engravings  of 
France  and  England.  He  must  have  it.  "  What  a  splen- 
did possession  !  "  he  cries.  Careful  economist  as  he  was, 
he  knew  how  "  to  spend  for  his  genius."  His  last  days  in 
Breslau  were  made  very  pleasant  by  social  intercourse,  and 
by  a  visit  to  Tieck's  home,  where  he  had  a  frolic  with  the 
children,  whom  he  drew  round  in  their  little  carriage. 


94  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 


CHAPTER   VI 

GERMAN    ART.  SCHOOLS    AND    MUSEUMS 

1819-1822 

RAUCH'S  relations  to  the  life  of  his  time  and  to  the 
development  of  art  in  Germany  were  so  intimate,  that  it 
is  impossible  fully  to  understand  him  without  some  ac- 
quaintance with  the  drift  of  historic  events,  and  the  work 
of  other  artists  in  Germany.  In  his  second  volume, 
whose  appearance  was  long  delayed,  in  order  to  make  use 
of  new  material  in  the  correspondence  of  Rauch,  Dr. 
Eggers  gives  an  interesting  sketch  of  this  youthful  bloom 
of  art  in  Germany,  when  every  tendency  of  thought  and 
every  phase  of  feeling  seemed  to  find  expression.  I  can 
give  only  a  slight  rtsumt  of  these  influences  as  they  espe- 
cially influenced  Rauch. 

"The  summer  of  1819  was  sultry  in  its  physical  and 
spiritual  aspects.  The  reactionary  spirit  of  the  govern- 
ment shown  in  the  Carlsbad  decree  against  the  associa- 
tions of  students  had  caused  profound  dissatisfaction, 
which  broke  forth  in  the  murder  of  Kotzebue  by  young 
Sand,  —  a  deed  which  distressed  the  friends  of  freedom 
more  than  it  intimidated  its  foes."  "Is  that  the  spirit," 
writes  Frau  von  Humboldt  from  Rome,  "  that  animates 
our  German  youth  ?". 

Wilhelm  von  Humboldt  retires  from  the  ministry,  since 
he  cannot  guide  the  state  to  constitutional  freedom.  The 
German  thinkers  withdrew  from  politics  into  the  calmer 
regions  of  speculation  and  study.  The  armies  of  France 
had  been  driven  out  of  the  fatherland,  but  her  ideas  still 
held  a  strong  sway  in  literature  and  art. 


GERMAN  ART.  —  SCHOOLS  AND  MUSEUMS       95 

How  much  the  intellectual  life  of  Germany  turned  away 
from  politics  appears  in  the  diaries  of  Rauch.  He  had 
followed  with  keen  interest  every  detail  of  the  War  of 
Freedom,  but  now  the  most  stirring  events  of  the  time 
receive  scarcely  a  comment.  The  murder  of  the  Duke  de 
Berri  in  1820  is  briefly  mentioned,  followed  by  a  note  that 
Ceccardo  has  made  the  first  point  on  a  relief  for  the 
Biilow  monument.  As  slightly  are  noted  the  Turin  Revo- 
lution of  1823,  the  death  of  Pope  Pius  VII.,  and  the  acces- 
sion of  Leo.  XII.,  and  even  the  death  of  the  Emperor 
Alexander,  and  the  mutiny  when  Nicholas  ascended  the 
throne  in  1826.  He  says  of  the  Russian  movement,  "  The 
issue  of  this  tumult  indicates  the  intention  to  overthrow 
the  Russian  dynasty,  and  to  erect  a  republic;  to  repeat 
the  madness  of  the  Neapolitans,  the  Piedmontese,  and  the 
Spaniards ;  only  with  less  humanity,  and  with  less  good 
fortune  than  the  young  emperor  was  able  to  secure  for 
himself." 

But  the  struggles  of  Greece  for  freedom,  which  awak- 
ened sympathy  even  in  many  conservative  hearts,  since 
reverence  for  antiquity  united  with  interest  in  humanity, 
called  renewed  attention  to  the  classics,  and  gave  fresh 
meaning  to  old  allegories.  At  the  same  time  an  excite- 
ment for  the  Christian  church,  which  caused  many  rever- 
sions to  Catholicism,  led  also  to  a  renewed  study  of  the 
history  and  mythology  of  the  Middle  Ages  ;  while  the 
younger  men,  full  of  hope  and  patriotism,  would  hear  of 
nothing  but  German  religion,  art,  and  science.  Thus, 
while  we  see  the  same  confusion  and  jarring  of  many  dif- 
ferent influences  in  the  world  of  art  and  literature,  as  in 
the  political  world,  we  yet  find  rich  activity  and  life,  —  a 
drinking  anew  from  old  historic  sources,  and  an  openness 
to  new  influences.  History  is  no  longer  a  dead  letter,  a 
dry  record  of  facts,  but  a  study  of  the  evolution  of 
humanity.  Thus  a  history  of  art  arises,  and  it  is  seen 
how  art  is  related  to  the  historic  development  and  spirit- 
ual life  of  the  people. 


96  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

To  this  upheaving  of  life  was  added  what  was  indeed 
necessary  to  give  it  solid  success,  —  a  great  advance  in 
the  material  means  at  command  for  the  expression  of 
thought. 

Art  could  no  longer  be  confined  to  a  few  wealthy 
patrons,  or  be  at  the  command  of  an  exclusive  church,  if 
it  was  to  bear  its  part  in  this  great  uprising  of  the  peo- 
ple ;  and  the  arts  of  reproduction  needed  to  be  greatly 
extended  to  carry  on  the  education  of  the  masses.  Albert 
Diirer  and  others  had  in  the  first  time  of  Protestantism 
found  the  value  of  such  means  in  influencing  the  people. 
We  find  Goethe  deeply  interested  in  the  improved  meth- 
ods of  engraving,  and  especially  of  lithography,  which 
gives  with  so  much  truth  the  chiaro-scuro  and  feeling  of 
the  original  work.  Steel-engraving  and  printing  in  colors 
excited  much  attention  in  England.  But  most  important 
of  all  was  the  wonderful  invention  of  Daguerre,  who  began 
his  experiments  in  photographic  work  in  1822,  although  it 
was  nearly  .twenty  years  before  he  attained  satisfactory 
results.  This  art  has  revolutionized  methods  of  reproduc- 
tion, and  has  proved  a  powerful  ally,  instead  of  a  danger- 
ous rival,  to  genuine  art  work.  At  the  same  time  the 
art-unions  began  their  work  of  mediating  between  the 
artist  and  the  public  by  introducing  the  works  of  one  to 
the  other.  Without  denying  that  they  have  been  capable 
of  errors  and  even  follies,  we  cannot  but  recognize  the 
great  service  they  have  done  in  spreading  the  knowledge 
and  enjoyment  of  art.  There  is  a  beneficent  process  of 
natural  selection  always  going  on  in  art,  which,  if  it  may 
possibly  sweep  away  a  few  jewels,  saves  us  from  being 
overwhelmed  with  the  rags  of  the  garments  we  have  out- 
grown. 

In  1824,  in  Berlin,  artists  and  friends  of  art  united 
to  obtain  commissions  for  their  countrymen  studying  in 
Rome.  Humboldt  was  the  soul  of  this  little  band,  to 
which  Rauch,  Tieck,  Schinkel,  Wach,  Schadow,  and  Begas 


GERMAN    ART.  SCHOOLS    AND    MUSEUMS  97 

belonged.  They  now  proposed  to  extend  it  under  the 
name  of  "Union  of  Friends  of  Art  in  the  Prussian  State." 
At  Rauch's  request,  the  king  examined  the  plan  of  the 
union,  and  consented  to  be  its  patron.  Goethe  expressed 
warm  interest  in  it.  In  the  spring  of  1824  Rauch  writes 
to  Lund,  "  that  the  union  is  already  in  its  desired  path. 
There  is  money,"  he  says,  "  but  as  yet  no  acceptable 
pictures  ;  this  rouses  up  the  good  painters,  and  the  public 
is  very  sympathetic."  It  found  less  welcome  in  Rome. 
But  the  fruits  of  years  of  study  of  German  artists  in 
Rome  were  now  appearing,  and  young  artists  were  return- 
ing to  their  native  land  full  of  eagerness  to  ripen  their 
talents  in  German  air.  Finally  all  these  tendencies 
towards  activity  .in  art  found  a  concrete  expression  in 
King  Ludwig  of  Bavaria,  who  esteemed  the  promotion 
of  art  the  great  object  of  government.  Alike  devoted  to 
classic  art  and  German  glory,  he  built  his  Walhalla  with 
an  eager  haste  and  impatience  corresponding  to  the  spirit 
of  the  times.  "  I  don't  treat  art  as  a  dessert,"  he  said  to 
Rauch  ;  "  it  must  be  our  beefsteak."  He  would  gladly 
have  drawn  Rauch  into  his  own  exclusive  service  as  a 
sculptor ;  but  Rauch's  early  relations  to  the  royal  family 
of  Prussia,  and  his  strong  attachment  to  them,  made  it 
impossible  for  him  to  leave  his  home  in  Berlin.  He  had, 
however,  frequent  and  pleasant  relations  with  King  Lud- 
wig ;  but  we  agree  with  Dr.  Eggers  that  it  was  most  fortu- 
nate that  he  preserved  his  independent  position,  and  was 
not  drawn  into  the  rapid  current  of  the  royal  amateur's 
designs.  In  Schwanthaler,  King  Ludwig  found  a  man 
whose  lively  fancy  and  rapid  execution  suited  him.  Rauch 
founded  his  school  on  the  principle  of  thorough  work,  and 
spared  neither  time  nor  labor  to  carry  out  his  ideas  to  the 
most  perfect  expression. 

Rauch  was  not  at  all  carried  away  by  the  romantic 
school,  so  far  as  it  was  represented  by  mysticism  and 
Catholicism.  He  always  remained  a  liberal  Protestant, 


98  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

and  studied  alike  the  lessons  of  antiquity  and  the  needs 
of  his  own  time. 

At  the  same  time  Berlin  was  fast  becoming,  under  the 
direction  of  Schinkel,  a  noble  capital  of  art  ;  the  painters 
were  decorating  the  Opera  House,  and  under  the  direction 
of  Rauch  a  great  school  of  sculpture  was  being  rapidly 
established. 

In  the  spring  of  1819  Rauch  was  in  the  full  tide  of 
activity  in  the  Lagerhaus,  happy  in  the  companionship 
of  his  friend  Tieck  and  the  skilful  co-operation  of  his 
laborers.  He  writes  to  Frau  von  Humboldt,  "  Tieck  has 
made  a  stepping  Apollo  in  clay,  —  splendidly  successful  ! 
If  it  were  only  possible  to  get  him  an  order  for  marble  ! 
Do  you  know  how  beautifully  he  can  work  in  that 
material  ?" 

The  great  demand  for  busts  continued ;  and  Rauch 
writes  in  regard  to  the  bust  of  Hardenberg,  "  The  people 
have  gone  mad  over  the  likeness,  but  I  cannot  find  the 
least  pleasure  in  it."  Rauch  began  to  model  a  colossal 
bust  of  Frederic  the  Great.  Many  other  commissions 
poured  in,  some  of  which  indeed  came  to  naught ;  but  in  a 
few  months  the  atelier  was  crowded  full,  and  all  were  busy 
and  merry. 

Now  that  his  work  was  thus  prosperously  going  on, 
Rauch  indulged  himself  in  the  happiness  of  a  visit  to  the 
home  from  which  he  had  so  long  been  absent.  He  had 
last  seen  his  mother  in  1797,  when  he  accompanied  King 
Frederic  William  on  his  journey.  She  had  died  in  1810. 
A  very  aged  brother  of  hers,  Johannes  Hildebrandt,  was 
yet  living  in  Mengeringhausen ;  and  some  distant  cousins 
on  his  mother's  side,  and  the  widow  Marhof  Niggemannat 
Flechtdorf,  to  whom  Rauch  had  given  his  mother's  inher- 
itance, remained.  He  found  also  a  cousin,  the  court- 
physician  Mundhenck,  who  was  happily  married,  and  had 
two  charming  daughters,  living  in  Pyrmont.  His  own 
blooming  young  daughter  Agnes  accompanied  him  on  the 
journey 


GERMAN    ART.  SCHOOLS    AND    MUSEUMS  99 

He  spent  three  refreshing  weeks  in  this  family  life,  and 
the  intercourse  thus  renewed  was  always  kept  up.  His 
relations  delighted  to  send  him  sausages  and  other  delica- 
cies for  the  household.  His  daughter  Agnes,  who  had 
been  for  the  last  five  years  at  the  Luisenstift,  now  took 
charge  of  his  housekeeping,  and  made  pleasant  little 
social  parties  in  the  home.  He  had  a  visit  from  his  rela- 
tives, and  took  pains  to  give  his  medical  cousin  every 
opportunity  of  professional  observation  in  Berlin,  and 
himself  showed  the  party  everything  of  interest  in  the 
world  of  art. 

He  afterwards  went  to  Pyrmont  in  search  of  health. 
He  writes  to  Humboldt,  "  Since  the  beginning  of  the  year 
[1821],  when  the  cold  and  wet  weather  began,  I  have  suf- 
fered uninterruptedly  from  pains  in  the  limbs,  which  were 
as  good  as  cured  by  Kohlrausch.  I  pass  the  nights  with- 
out sleep,  sometimes  when  I  am  travelling,  in  wildest 
delirium.  By  day  this  bad  condition  hinders  me  from 
work,  and  drives  me  to  hypochondria.  I  shall  go  to  Pyr- 
mont at  the  end  of  this  month."  These  pains  appear  to 
have  been  caused  by  his  habit,  when  absorbed  in  his  work, 
of  kneeling  down  in  the  damp  clay,  although  he  preferred 
rather  to  believe  them  to  be  a  result  of  the  severe  nervous 
fever  from  which  he  had  suffered.  He  spent  the  summer 
months  at  the  baths,  and  made  a  few  busts,  among  them 
one  of  his  medical  cousin. 

Every  journey  afforded  him  opportunities  of  artistic 
study  and  pleasure.  At  Braunschweig  he  enjoyed  the 
fine  pictures,  and  at  Hildesheim  the  rich  old  bronzes. 
He  was  much  interested  in  studying  the  manner  in  which 
these  were  cast,  as  is  plainly  to  be  seen  "in  the  Euripides, 
not  over  a  model  in  ' cire  perdue,'  but  in  the  modern 
manner  with  a  core."  He  was  already  interested  in  this 
method  of  casting,  in  relation  to  his  Bliicher  statue. 

He  made  comparisons  between  the  antique  and  medi- 
aeval work,  and  spoke  disparagingly  of  Peter  Fischer's 


IOO  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

reliefs,  saying  they  were  coarse,  like  those  of  an  ignorant 
founder.  "  How  unhappy  were  we  sculptors  but  for  Greek 
art  and  its  works !  "  he  cries.  He  found  reason  to  modify 
this  judgment,  however,  when  he  saw  more  of  Vischer's 
productions.  Not  only  art,  but  nature,  gave  him  the 
keenest  delight.  He  noted  every  tree  and  stone,  the 
form  of  the  clouds,  the  lights  and  shadows,  and  was 
grieved  when  night  came  on  and  concealed  the  sur- 
roundings. If  his  daughter  fell  asleep  from  the  heat 
of  the  day  or  motion  of  the  carriage,  he  called  out,  "  For 
shame !  look  about  you ! "  But  he  could  not  bear  the 
senseless  chatter  of  admiration,  and  forbade  the  use  of 
" himmlisch  schon"  or  " fiirchterlich  reizend"  even  when 
passing  through  the  wild,  picturesque  scenery  of  the 
Saxon  Switzerland.  He  delighted  to  live  over  again  with 
his  daughter  the  lively  feelings  with  which,  in  his  first 
journey  to  Dresden,  he  had  seen  the  beauties  of  his 
own  land.  Rauch's  personal  happiness  centred  more  and 
more  in  his  beloved  Agnes.  He  took  the  younger,  nine- 
year-old  daughter  Doris  from  school,  and  secured  for  her 
a  governess,  who  for  forty  years  acted  as  housekeeper, 
and  took  charge  of  his  home  and  daughters  most  success- 
fully. Agnes  was  old  enough  to  enter  society,  and  her 
own  charming  character  and  manners,  as  well  as  the 
regard  for  her  father,  secured  her  a  cordial  welcome  in 
the  best  families  of  Berlin.  He  accompanied  her  to  balls, 
masquerades,  and  receptions.  She  must  always  present 
herself  in  her  ball-dress  beforehand  for  his  criticism,  that 
she  might  not,  in  compliance  with  fashion,  infringe  on 
the  real  laws  of  beauty.  She  must  leave  the  ball  at  the 
prescribed  hour  as  punctually  as  Cinderella,  and  no  en- 
treaties served  to  prolong  the  time  of  amusement.  She 
must  give  up  the  rich  viands  which  her  father  despised, 
and  enjoy  the  ham  and  potato  soup  whose  fragrance 
always  greeted  her  return  home. 

During   his  middle  life   Rauch  was  subject  to  severe 


GERMAN    ART. SCHOOLS    AND    MUSEUMS  IOI 

attacks  of  headache.  He  would  continue  at  his  work  as 
long  as  possible,  trying  to  drive  off  the  attack ;  but  when 
sight  failed  him  he  would  come  up  from  the  atelier,  say- 
ing, "  I  am  good  for  nothing."  The  pain  was  usually  so 
severe  that  he  must  go  to  bed,  often  for  some  days,  with- 
out eating  anything,  being  almost  unconscious  until  the 
attack  wore  off,  usually  about  nightfall.  Then  he  rose 
up,  ate  his  potato  soup  and  ham,  and  returned  to  take  up 
his  work  where  he  had  left  it.  These  were  black  days  in 
his  calendar.  He  counted  them  every  year  on  Sylvester 
Day,  as,  "  Twenty-two  headaches,  of  which  eighteen  were 
in  bed."  Sometimes  with  the  addition,  "The  only  inter- 
ruption to  work."  One  year,  when  he  noted  twenty-six, 
he  says,  "  Except  this  fatality,  I  was  never  better  in  my 
life."  The  attacks  grew  less  in  later  life,  as  he  often 
remarked  for  the  comfort  of  young  people  who  suffered 
in  a  similar  way. 

He  was  very  regular  in  his  diet,  and  did  not  like  to  take 
anything  but  his  usual  meals,  and  he  was  never  known 
to  approach  anything  like  a  debauch  on  any  occasion. 
He  loved  the  society  of  cultivated  men,  and  talked  much 
and  well  on  all  subjects  in  which  he  was  interested,  but 
in  the  atelier  he  was  perfectly  silent.  *He  shared  in  all 
the  entertainments  of  the  court,  in  concerts  where  Cata- 
lani  and  Sontag  sang,  and  in  the  tableaux  and  private 
theatricals  where  Faust  was  acted  by  dukes  and  princess- 
es. He  rarely  visited  the  theatre,  except  for  some  great 
work  of  dramatic  art.  He  enjoyed  Gluck's  "Alceste;" 
and  often  his  sculptor's  eye  was  delighted  with  the  forms 
and  movements  of  the  actors.  "  Don  Juan  "  was  his  favor- 
ite opera,  while  he  cared  little  for  the  popular  "  Der 
Freischutz,"  and  could  not  fix  its  melodies  in  his  mind. 

He  was  frank  and  generous  in  his  judgment  of  other 
artists,  even  when  their  theories  and  methods  differed 
greatly  from  his  own.  A  touch  of  irony  sometimes 
appears  in  his  estimate  of  the  "genre''  painting  of  his 


IO2  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

day.  He  warmly  recognized  the  genius  of  Leopold 
Robert,  whom  he  had  known  in  Rome,  and  introduced 
this  leader  of  Realism  to  the  Berlin  Academy,  and  ordered 
a  picture  for  his  own  gallery.  He  had  great  personal 
sympathy  for  artists,  especially  if  they  were  earnest  and 
laborious  ;  and  for  one  who  was  sick  he  exerted  himself 
to  obtain  commissions  for  copies.  He  gratefully  remem- 
bered his  old  master,  Ruhl,  and  endeavored  to  assist  his 
sons,  whose  own  merits  would  not  give  them  the  high 
places  they  coveted.  For  nothing  else  would  have  led 
him  to  take  the  painter,  Ludwig  Ruhl,  under  his  personal 
care,  and  seek  to  introduce  his  pictures  to  Prince  Charles. 
His  pictures  (of  horses)  were  not  indeed  worthless ;  but, 
being  a  handsome  man,  he  paid  more  attention  to  his 
clothes  than  to  the  canvas  on  his  easel  ;  and  was  too  eager 
for  high  society,  where  he  might  play  the  fine  gentleman, 
to  please  Rauch,  who  had  no  attraction  to  the  fool 
(liausnarr). 

Rauch  also  assisted  his  old  master  when  he  was  de- 
prived of  his  office  and  work  in  Cassel,  procured  marble 
for  him,  and  took  an  interest  in  his  work,  although  his  old 
master  deprecates  his  employing  his  sharp,  critical  blade 
upon  it.  The  younger  son,  Julius,  became  an  excellent 
architect  in  Frankfort  on  the  Main,  and  later  the  Hessian 
electoral  court  building  director. 

Rauch  kept  up  his  connection  with  Rome  through 
occasional  correspondence  with  Frau  von  Humboldt  and 
other  friends.  He  writes  with  delight  that  the  king  has 
ordered  Rudolf  Schadow's  "  Achilles  and  Penthesilea  "  in 
marble.  But  Schadow  never  finished  the  group. 

On  the  twelfth  of  January,  1822,  Frau  Buti  sent  Ru- 
dolf's best  greetings,  and  gave  notice  of  a  dinner  which 
Signor  Alberto  (Thorwaldsen)  had  given  to  the  household. 
They  danced,  and  drank  punch  made  from  lemons  from 
Ranch's  garden,  giving  him  a  special  "  Hoch "  as  the 
patron  of  lemons.  Schadow  had  planted  lemons,  apples, 


GERMAN    ART.  SCHOOLS    AND    MUSEUMS  103 

and  palms  in  the  garden  in  remembrance  of  Rauch. 
Fourteen  days  after  the  feast  he  was  taken  ill  with  an  in- 
flammation on  the  chest ;  and  Rauch  was  startled  with  the 
news  that,  on  the  first  of  the  next  month,  their  friend  had 
found  his  last  resting-place  in  S.  Andrea  della  Fratte. 
Frau  Buti  took  charge  of  studio  and  garden  until  Emil 
Wolff  was  sent  as  a  five-years'  pensioner  to  Rome.  He 
remained  there  in  constant  correspondence  with  Rauch 
until  his  death. 

His  correspondence  and  friendship  with  Lund  was 
equally  close  and  enduring.  After  making  a  rich  student 
journey  with  Wach,  in  which  he  gathered  treasures  of 
sketches  of  Italian  painters,  Lund  left  the  Eternal  City, 
more  than  a  year  after  Rauch.  He  accompanied  Thorwald- 
sen,  "who  gave  way  to  a  new  race  in  Rome,"  to  his  home, 
where  a  number  of  commissions  awaited  him  for  many 
altar  pieces,  and  for  painting  the  introduction  of  Chris- 
tianity into  Denmark  for  the  royal  castle.  A  pupil  of 
David's,  he  had  kept  closely  to  classicism,  and  had  be- 
longed to  the  select  Humboldt  circle.  He  only  agreed  in 
the  choice  of  subjects  with  "  Nazareth,"  which  he  believed 
to  be  already  dying  out.  To  Lund  the  correspondence 
with  Rauch  was  most  precious,  for  he  felt  the  want  of 
artistic  sympathy  in  Copenhagen  very  deeply;  and  his 
homesickness  for  Rome  was  not  relieved  until  he  became 
betrothed,  and  wrote  joyfully  to  Rauch  of  his  new-found 
happiness.  He  earnestly  desired  the  same  blessing  for 
his  friend. 

With  all  his  blessings  Rauch  had  indeed  often  felt  the 
want  of  a  centre  to  his  home,  a  partner  of  his  joys  and 
sorrows ;  but,  as  he  had  before  said  to  Schinkel,  he  now 
answered  to  Lund,  that,  if  he  did  not  follow  his  example, 
"  it  lay  not  in  his  will."  But  he  was  now  very  happy  in  his 
work  in  the  Lagerhaus,  and  his  family  life  with  his  daughters. 

His  birthday  was  a  standing  festival  at  the  Lagerhaus. 
Here  his  artistic  friends  assembled,  accompanied  by  their 


IO4  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

wives,  and  filled  up  the  hour  in  pleasant  intercourse.  One 
of  the  company  unrolled  a  copy  of  verses  an  ell  long,  in 
which  he  recounted  how  the  Great  Elector  made  his 
legendary  round  on  New  Year's  night  to  inspire  the 
Rauch  statues,  and  to  secure  the  order  for  the  statue  of 
old  Fritz. 

But  however  gay  and  pleasant  the  social  life,  when 
Ranch  returned  to  the  atelier  he  was  again  the  silent, 
earnest  master,  devoted  to  work  himself,  and  requiring  the 
same  diligence  from  others.  "  I  am  again  in  my  accus- 
tomed course  of  work,"  he  says,  on  his  return  from  a 
journey  ;  "that  is,  to  rise  and  go  to  bed  with  the  lark,  and 
between  times  to  work  eight  or  nine  hours."  From  half- 
past  five  in  the  morning,  when  the  neighbors  in  summer  or 
winter  saw  him  place  the  shaving-mirror  so  punctually  at 
the  window  that  they  could  set  their  clocks,  by  it,  until 
breakfast,  he  conducted  his  correspondence,  in  which  his 
rule  was  of  great  punctuality.  The  time  until  one  o'clock, 
when  he  took  his  noonday  meal,  was  given  to  the  atelier. 
Here  the  greatest  order  and  neatness  prevailed.  It  made 
him  unhappy  that  an  old  measuring-circle  that  he  had 
used  in  his  years  of  study  got  mislaid.  He  disliked  any 
interruption,  and  looked  upon  every  one  who  came  during 
his  working-hours  without  great  necessity  as  a  thief.  But 
he  was  very  glad  to  receive  those  who  were  earnest  to 
learn,  and  gave  them  the  clear,  frank  criticism  which  he 
prized  so  much  himself.  When  the  king  visited  the  stu- 
dio, and  criticised  the  long  over-hose  of  the  Bliicher  statue, 
Rauch  said,  "  He  is  perfectly  right."  He  showed  the 
work  of  his  pupils  to  the  king,  and  was  pleased  that  they 
gained  his  approbation. 

A  break  in  the  enjoyment  of  the  Lagerhaus  came  from 
the  constant  attempts  of  various  persons  to  get  possession 
of  a  part  of  it  for  other  purposes.  Every  year  some  con- 
test of  this  nature  must  be  fought.  Once  he  had  to  resist 
the  letting  of  a  hall  for  the  exhibition  of  a  sea  monster ; 


GERMAN    ART.  SCHOOLS    AND    MUSEUMS  1 05 

and  he  obtained  the  promise  of  its  castellan  that  "in 
future  no  cattle  shall  be  brought  into  the  neighborhood 
of  your  Excellency's  atelier."  He  had  to  threaten  an 
appeal  to  the  king,  which  finally  secured  him  in  peaceable 
possession.  He  added  an  annex  to  the  Lagerhaus  for  a 
marble-yard,  in  which  he  could  store  marbles  sent  from 
Carrara.  The  great  cost  of  marble  prevented  the  use  of 
this  stone,  which  Rauch  considered  the  best  adapted  for 
ideal  work.  He  was  not  satisfied  that  the  artist  should 
model  only  the  soft  clay  ;  he  felt  that  he  should,  with 
hammer  and  chisel,  give  the  last  touches  to  the  hard 
stone.  He  stored  up  blocks  of  marble,  which  he  carefully 
selected  in  Carrara,  both  for  his  own  use  and  for  sale  to 
other  artists,  many  of  whom  took  advantage  of  the  oppor- 
tunity. It  remained  for  many  decades  the  chief  source  of 
,  supply  for  Germany.  The  English  imitated  his  example 
until,  finally,  the  price  of  marble  rose  so  much,  that  in 
1828,  good  Carrara  marble  was  cheaper  in  Berlin  than  in 
Rome. 

He  had  imported  not  only  marble  but  marble- workers  ; 
and  his  example  was  followed  by  Thorwaldsen  and  others, 
until  the  supply  of  skilled  workmen  was  exhausted,  and 
Wolff  found  it  very  difficult  to  secure  suitable  assistants. 

Rauch  tried  to  secure  a  pension  for  the  men  he  had 
brought  from  Carrara,  to  support  them  while  there  was  a 
lack  of  work  in  marble,  as  their  skill  would  soon  be  needed 
for  the  restoration  of  antique  works  for  the  museum.  He 
succeeded  in  gaining  an  allowance  of  two  hundred  thalers. 
When,  however,  the  hope  of  a  permanent  foundation  for 
marble  sculpture  was  given  up,  all  the  workmen  but 
Ceccardo  Gilli  finally  returned  to  their  homes.  He  was  a 
very  young  man,  and  he  became  devotedly  attached  to  the 
master,  and  remained  with  him  until  his  death. 

Many  of  his  German  scholars  were  very  helpful  and 
dear  to  him  ;  but  dearest  of  all  were  Rietschel  and  Drake, 
who  came  to  him  in  1826  and  1827.  Rietschel,  indeed, 


IO6  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    KAUCH 

became  bound  to  him  in  a  friendship  so  close,  tender,  and 
enduring,  that  Dr.  Eggers  compares  it  to  that  noble  tie 
between  Goethe  and  Schiller,  which  Rietschel  has  immor- 
talized in  his  statue.  He  was  at  first  repelled  by  Rauch's 
earnest,  even  severe,  manner.  But  when  Rauch  had  seen 
Rietschel's  drawings,  and  his  model  of  a  bust,  and  espe- 
cially a  sketch  of  Tyrolean  singers,  the  Rainers,  he  was 
so  much  struck  with  the  character  of  the  work,  that  he 
gave  it  warm  praise ;  and  it  was  quickly  decided  that 
Rietschel  should  remain  in  the  atelier.  Rauch  was  a 
severe  critic,  but  he  was  overflowing  with  delight  when  he 
discovered  new  talent  or  excellence  in  any  one.  He  used 
few  words,  but  illustrated  his  meaning  by  actual  work  on 
the  object,  cutting  away  or  adding  or  changing  with  a 
master-stroke.  An  anecdote  told  by  Rietschel  shows  his 
manner  of  teaching. 

Rauch  asked  him  if  he  had  modelled  a  relief.  Rietschel 
had  no  idea  about  it,  and  thought  a  relief  was  only  a  figure 
cut  through  the  middle,  with  its  flat  side  laid  down. 
Rauch  told  him  to  take  a  manikin,  which  was  draped  in 
calico,  and  had  served  for  a  figure  of  an  apostle,  and  make 
a  Paul,  with  a  book  under  his  arm  and  a  sword  in  the  other 
hand.  Berghes  showed  him  how  to  lay  out  the  nude 
figure  ;  and  Rietschel,  knowing  nothing  of  the  flat  princi- 
ples of  relief,  went  on  building  it  up  higher  and  rounder, 
until  the  outer  arm  stood  almost  free,  and  the  drapery  fol- 
lowed it  with  ever-increasing  impossibility.  Rietschel 
says,  "  Rauch  came  day  after  day,  saw  the  work,  and  went 
away  without  saying  a  word.  I  thought  that  indicated 
great  satisfaction,  and  I  went  on  encouraged.  Finally,  on 
the  third  day,  he  asked  me  for  a  wire,  which  I  reached 
him,  full  of  expectation.  Then  he  cut  down  the  height 
of  the  figure  almost  one-half,  till  he  left  only  a  high  out- 
line, and  said,  '  How  could  you  make  such  an  infamous 
tinker's  work?  It  should  be  only  so  high.'  "  He  laid  down 
the  wire  and  went  away.  Tears  stood  in  the  pupil's  eyes 


GERMAN  ART.  —  SCHOOLS  AND  MUSEUMS      IO/ 

over  his  failure.  But  the  friendly  Berghes  came  to  his 
aid  ;  and  Rietschel,  having  given  his  mind  to  the  subject, 
made  a  relief  which  must  have  satisfied  his  master, 
since  he  used  it  later  as  one  of  the  ornaments  of  his 
staircase. 

Rauch's  principle  of  teaching  was  self-instruction,  not 
only  because  he  had  gained  his  own  knowledge  in  that 
way,  but  because  he  believed  it  was  the  only  thorough 
one. 

He  expected  pure  love  and  a  full  surrender  to  art,  and 
constant  effort,  after  the  best  of  which  one  is  capable. 
Worldly  ambition  was  offensive  to  him  in  others  :  he 
never  felt  it  himself.  As  Rietschel  was  once  trying  to 
model  a  free  figure  that  Rauch  had  given  him  as  an  exer- 
cise, Tieck  found  him  in  great  despair  over  his  own  want 
of  power.  Tieck,  who  was  often  the  consoler  when 
Rauch  had  been  severe  in  blame,  relieved  Rietschel  by  a 
playfulness  which  was  in  line  with  Rauch's  thought. 
"  What  are  you  so  troubled  about  ?  "  he  said.  "  Do  you 
wish  to  make  a  masterpiece  ?  Never  mind  Rauch ! " 
Rauch  may  be  said  to  have  known  no  other  aim  than 
striving  for  the  best.  Every  finished  exercise  was  only  a 
stepping-stone  to  another  ;  and  he  struggled  like  a  young 
man  who  exerted  himself  as  if  he  had  never  done  any- 
thing in  his  life.  He  was  modest  in  the  deepest  sense  of 
the  word,  and  relentless  towards  himself.  If  anything 
displeased  him  in  his  work,  he  would  destroy  months  of 
labor,  and  unweariedly  begin  anew.  Thus  he  always  re- 
mained young,  because  he  always  began  every  work  with 
fresh  ardor  and  zeal,  as  if  he  had  accomplished  nothing. 

The  closest  relation  existed  between  Rauch  and  his 
master,  Gottfried  Schadow,  and  his  elder  friend  Thorwald- 
sen.  Thorwaldsen  had  renewed  the  classic  feeling  in 
sculpture.  He  left  to  Greece  itself  its  highest  god,  the 
Zeus  ;  but  he  used  the  beautiful  circle  of  Greek  forms  to 
express  the  whole  range  of  thought  and  feeling,  of  force, 


IOS  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

craft,  and  strength,  but  especially  of  love,  —  the  master- 
passion  of  life,  the  all-conquering  "  Amor,"  which  is  alike 
his  first  and  last  work.  By  no  means  slavish  in  his  imi- 
tation of  the  Greek  masterpieces,  but  using  their  method 
of  simplicity  and  repose  to  express  new  thoughts,  his 
works  seem  almost  a  continuation  of  theirs,  and  to  link 
themselves  happily  to  a  circle  of  plastic  Christian  repre- 
sentations. His  Christ  and  his  apostles  express  the  mod- 
ern feeling  in  fit  harmony  with  the  ancient  form,  showing 
that  true  art  is  not  a  fossilized  but  a  progressive  creation. 

Thorwaldsen  hardly  belonged  to  any  nation ;  and  he 
does  not  express  the  life  of  his  time  even  in  his  portrait 
and  monumental  statues.  He  avoids  the  question  of 
modern  costume,  and  uses  either  a  wholly  Roman  costume, 
or  a  modification  of  the  cloak,  or  a  dress  of  the  Middle 
Ages. 

Gottfried  Schadow  works  in  quite  a  different  direction. 
He  does  not  shun  the  question  of  modern  costume,  but 
meets  it  directly. 

On  the  twenty-eighth  of  July,  1781,  at  three  o'clock  in 
the  morning,  the  master  Tassaert  sent  his  apprentice, 
Gottfried  Schadow,  seventeen  years  old,  to  draw  the  ruins 
of  the  tower  of  a  church  lately  overthrown.  Picturesque 
ruins  had  until  then  only  been  known  by  engravings  and 
pictures  ;  and  artists  and  dilettanti  thronged  to  take  advan- 
tage of  this  actual  ruin  for  purposes  of  study.  Schadow 
had  the  greatest  success  in  his  picture,  and  his  artistic 
existence  may  be  said  to  date  from  this  event. 

Penetrated  by  his  love  of  reality,  Schadow  went  to 
Rome,  where  he  preferred  the  Roman  art  to  the  Greek, 
especially  where,  in  the  delineation  of  men  of  the  period, 
it  proved  faithful  to  every  detail,  from  the  crown  of  the 
helmet  to  the  rim  of  the  sandal.  But  the  delicate  sense 
of  beauty,  and  the  true  artistic  feeling  of  Schadow,  pre- 
served him  from  the  excesses  of  realism  ;  and  although  he 
has  not  the  wide  popularity  of  Thorwaldsen,  whose  tender 


GERMAN    ART. SCHOOLS    AND    MUSEUMS  IOQ 

sentiment  is  felt  by  all  classes,  he  is  equally  prized  by 
connoisseurs. 

As  Dr.  Eggers  has  well  expressed  it,  "  From  the  Greeks 
flow  the  fountains  for  which  men  thirsted."  This  people 
dwelt  close  to  art :  art  was  to  them  nature,  and  Thor- 
waldsen  drew  from  the  natural  source.  But  the  springs 
of  nature  flow  unceasingly  in  actual  life,  and  to  them 
Schadow  turned. 

So  he  went  to  the  living  world,  and  measured  and  drew 
hundreds  of  men  of  all  ages  and  classes,  to  find  the  most 
beautiful  proportions  of  the  human  figure,  and  in  this 
laborious,  empirical  way  to  settle  the  question  by  his 
own  standard  whether  the  German  human  form  corre- 
sponded to  Greek  laws. 

He  followed  nature  so  closely,  that  he  boldly  repre- 
sented the  historic  men  in  the  clothing  which  they  wore 
in  life.  Thus  he  unconsciously  reached  the  Greek  prin- 
ciple, on  which  he  laid  his  foundation  of  portraiture  ;  for 
the  Greeks  held  it  to  be  a  fundamental  principle  so  to 
fashion  the  individual  man  as  he  was  clothed  in  life.  The 
character  of  a  personality  penetrates  his  clothing,  and 
determines  it.  The  truth  of  the  kernel  breaks  through 
the  shell.  As  the  poet  says,  "  Nature  has  neither  kernel 
nor  shell;  both  are  alike."  Therefore  that  clothing  will 
be  most  natural  to  a  man  which  he  has  worn  all  his  life. 

According  to  this  idea,  Schadow  wished  to  represent 
Frederic  the  Great  in  the  costume  of  his  time,  as  he  also 
modelled  the  beautiful  group  of  the  crown  princess  and 
her  sister,  not  omitting  the  band  around  her  throat. 
Rauch  admired  his  work  in  this  respect,  and  speaks  of  his 
Luther  monument  as  "  a  nafve,  true,  and  excellent  work." 

While  Thorwaldsen  and  Schadow  thus  brought  out 
with  admirable  skill  and  feeling  the  varying  characteristics 
of  classicism  and  realism,  it  was  the  special  merit  of  a 
third  artist,  Rauch,  to  unite  these  differing  tendencies  in 
an  organic  unity.  He  gave  full  emphasis  to  the  inde- 


IIO  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

pendence  of  individuality,  but  he  escaped  the  fetters  of 
bare  naturalism  and  narrow  actuality,  while  he  rose  in  the 
region  of  the  universal,  and  in  the  free  world  of  thought, 
bringing  out  his  noblest  self.  "  This,  his  achievement,  is 
the  history  of  art ;  and  for  the  development  of  sculpture 
we  must  unquestionably  accept  it  as  a  fact,  and  as  a 
method  of  work  consciously  dictated  throughout." 

Not  that  Rauch  worked  on  a  theory  of  eclecticism,  tak- 
ing so  much  of  reality  and  so  much  of  ideality,  but  that 
his  whole  perception  of  natural  forms  was  so  clear,  and  his 
thought  was  so  vivid,  that  this  method  of  conceiving  art 
sprang  out  of  his  whole  life.  He  was  helped  by  Schadow 
and  Thorwaldsen,  as  he  also  helped  them ;  for  it  is  not  the 
prerogative  of  genius  to  stand  isolated  and  alone,  but  to 
gather  into  itself  the  influences  of  his  time,  and  give  them 
out  to  others  again  in  fresh  organic  life. 

Schadow  and  Thorwaldsen  were  genial  enough  not  to 
be  uninfluenced  by  Rauch.  The  proof  is  in  their  works, 
while  Rauch's  constant  recognition  of  his  indebtedness  to 
them  fully  appears  in  his  diary. 

If  Schadow  did  not  go  so  far  as  Thorwaldsen  in  his  in- 
difference to  national  interests  and  feelings,  yet  he  did  not 
feel  the  full  influence  of  the  modern  life  of  the  people, 
but  recognized  the  grandeur  of  dynasties  as  a  thing  apart 
from  the  life  of  the  people's  heart.  Although  actually 
only  thirteen  years  younger  than  Schadow,  Rauch's  artis- 
tic career  really  began  much  later ;  and  almost  at  the  very 
time  of  his  recognized  mastership  at  Berlin,  Schadow 
was  ready  to  lay  down  the  chisel.  Schadow  had  his  strug- 
gles early  in  life  in  his  efforts  to  marry  the  woman  he 
loved,  and  to  provide  means  of  support.  Rauch  had  his 
outward  existence  smoothed  for  him,  and  his  struggle  was 
to  escape  to  his  ideal  life.  But  even  the  years  in  the 
queen's  antechamber  brought  precious  results,  for  the 
close  tie  which  bound  him  to  the  king  and  queen  gave  him 
a  deep  personal  affection  for  them,  as  well  as  a  strong  love 


GERMAN  ART.  —  SCHOOLS  AND  MUSEUMS      III 

of  his  country  ;  and  he  was  born  with  the  nation  in  her 
throes  of  agony,  and  rightly  became  her  representative  in 
art  when  she  was  again  prosperous  and  happy.  Neither 
the  nation's  foe  nor  the  hand  of  death  could  conquer  the 
noble  Louise :  she  rose  again  in  his  art,  more  truly 
the  queen  of  the  nation  than  ever  before  ;  and  if.  she  was 
the  founder  of  the  Unity  of  Germany,  he  helped  to  give 
form  and  substance  to  her  work.  Thus  in  art,  as  in  life, 
he  belonged  to  his  own  period ;  and  he  most  truly  mirrors 
the  life  of  his  own  time  because  he  so  deeply  studied  the 
whole  life  of  the  past  ;  and  he  is  most  true  to  his  own 
people  because  he  was  so  free  from  provincial  narrowness, 
and  recognized  worth  and  loved  goodness  in  every  peo- 
ple. Germany  must  live  in  his  spirit.  She  has  achieved 
unity ;  she  needs  now  to  broaden  her  lines,  and  to  enter 
into  true  relations  of  respect  and  mutual  benefit  with  her 
neighbors,  in  order  to  develop  a  national  life  equal  to  the 
intellectual  glory  which  her  poets,  artists,  and  philoso- 
phers have  shed  around  her. 

The  formation  of  noble  museums  in  her  national  capi- 
tal is  one  of  the  benefits  which  Germany  owes  indirectly 
to  the  victorious  career  of  the  man  whom  she  este'emed 
her  greatest  enemy,  and  is  one  of  the  ever-recurring 
proofs  how  life  can  bring  good  out  of  evil,  and  victory 
out  of  defeat. 

The  collection  of  ancient  works,  gathered  from  all 
Europe,  and  shown  so  freely  at  Paris,  was  a  grand  object- 
lesson,  which  led  all  men  to  consider  the  preciousness  of 
these  works  of  art,  and  the  importance  of  placing  them 
in  proper  care.  Five  and  thirty  statues  stood  in  the 
antique  gallery,  labelled  "  Fruits  of  the  Conquest  of 
Germany."  How  many  Germans  then  recorded  a  vow 
that  these  statues  should  be  once  more  returned  to  their 
owners,  and  that  the  nation  should  become  their  guardi- 
ans !  One  of  the  articles  of  the  proposed  treaty  of  peace 
required  their  return.  In  September,  1815,  the  returned 


112  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

works  of  art  were  placed  on  exhibition,  and  all  felt  the 
need  of  a  suitable,  permanent  place  for  them. 

Perhaps  for  the  first  time  in  Europe  it  was  felt  that 
works  of  art  should  be  the  birthright  of  the  people  rather 
than  the  private  delight  of  kings  and  nobles.  All  lovers 
of  art  knew  that  in  the  museum  open  to  the  people  lay 
a  powerful  lever  to  raise  the  whole  structure  of  art.  The 
king  entered  warmly  into  these  plans.  A  great  impulse 
was  given  to  the  desire  for  a  suitable  museum  building, 
by  the  purchase,  in  1815,  in  Paris,  of  the  celebrated 
Giustiniani  Gallery,  with  which  should  be  united  what 
could  be  found  in  the  royal  palaces  at  Berlin,  Potsdam, 
and  Charlottenburg.  One  hundred  and  fifty-four  pictures 
out  of  that  gallery,  and  twenty  single  ones  that  the  king 
had  bought  elsewhere,  passed  under  Rauch's  windows  ; 
and  the  king  had  also  commanded  many  copies  after 
Raphael,  and  his  own  full-length  figure  in  life-size,  by 
Gerard. 

Rauch  announces  to  Tieck  in  triumph,  that  on  the  four- 
teenth of  February,  1816,  one  hundred  and  thirty-five 
pictures  of  the  old  German  masters  will  come  from  Heidel- 
berg, —  the  collection  of  the  brothers  Boisseree.  He  thinks 
the  matter  is  all  arranged  that  they  are  to  pay  ten  thousand 
thalers,  which  will  go  for  the  finishing  of  the  Cologne 
Cathedral,  and  so  there  is  great  joy  all  around.  But, 
unfortunately  for  Berlin,  the  rejoicing  was  premature  ; 
and  after  Schinkel  thought  the  matter  all  arranged,  the 
pictures  went  to  Munich,  the  decisive  "yes  "  not  having 
been  said  soon  enough  by  the  ministry. 

In  the  ye'ar  1820  the  great  museum  was  planned,  and 
Rauch  took  the  warmest  interest  in  Schinkel's  plans  for 
it,  and  in  his  struggle  to  carry  them  out.  Schinkel  went 
to  Italy  to  study  buildings,  and  also  to  procure  casts  from 
the  antique  and  other  works  of  art ;  and  he  constantly 
writes  of  them  to  Rauch.  Already  the  museum  project 
had  influenced  Rauch's  artistic  career,  since  it  led  to  his 


GERMAN    ART. SCHOOLS    AND    MUSEUMS  113 

being  commissioned  to  purchase  works  of  art  in  Italy, 
and  to  have  casts  made  there;  and  he  was  also  much 
employed  in  making  restorations  of  ancient  statues,  which 
led  him  to  a  very  careful  study  of  classic  art. 

He  secured  the  Barberini  Faun,  and  casts  of  the 
Colossus  of  Monte  Cavallo  and  other  fine  works;  and 
Altenstein,  the  minister  of  state,  approved  of  all,  and 
adds,  "You  will  oblige  me  very  much  if,  during  your 
residence  in  Italy,  you  will  leave  nothing  unobserved 
which  can  be  important  to  us  in  future  for  the  progress 
of  art."  And  Rauch  replies,  "  I  will,  with  the  greatest 
zeal,  do  everything  to  secure  for  the  Prussian  state  that 
pre-eminence  in  this  department  which  it  already  enjoys 
through  so  many  other  scientific  establishments." 

Bunsen  and  Thorwaldsen  assisted  in  this  work,  and 
Paris  and  London  furnished  objects  of  interest  to  add  to 
the  collections. 

In  iSjQ  a  tourist  gave  such  glowing  accounts  of  dis- 
coveries in  the  land  of  Delos,  that  Wolff  was  sent  to 
Greece,  with  an  architect  named  Wessenburgh,  at  the 
cost  of  the  state. 

After  an  absence  of  six  months,  they  reported  to  Rauch 
an  almost  total  failure  in  attaining  the  object  of  their 
expedition ;  the  representations  of  the  tourists  proving 
incorrect  and  false.  They  express  their  convictions  that 
without  further  excavations  there  is  nothing  to  be  gained. 
Time  seems  to  have  justified  their  opinion. 

But  the  work  of  the  museum  did  not  always  run 
smoothly,  and  there  was  much  difference  of  opinion 
between  artists  and  connoisseurs.  Rauch  complained  that 
"literary  appointees  did  nothing  right  at  the  museum. 
Professor  Gerhard  has  invented  the  convenient  term 
'  apparatus,'  and  on  these  he  works  and  fusses.  He  is 
now  going  again  to  Italy  (where  I  and  a  thousand  others 
might  like  to  run  every  hour),  to  Greece,  etc.,  while  the 
work  for  making  known  the  treasures  of  Berlin  is  at  a 


114  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DAXIEL    KAL'CH 

stand.  It  is  dreadful !  Wilhelm  von  Humboldt  plainly 
foresaw  this  sinecureship,  and  now  a  great  deal  of  friction 
has  occurred  ;  for  as  the  building  of  the  museum  ap- 
proaches completion,  the  question  of  filling  the  rooms 
comes  into  the  foreground,  and  it  is  necessary  to  decide 
what  objects  should  be  received,  and  to  arrange  the 
appointments  of  the  administration."  Important  addi- 
tions were  made  to  the  commission,  which  consisted  of 
very  able  men,  and  Rauch  was  appointed  as  "  one  to  be 
trusted  for  competent  judgment,  on  account  of  the  high 
position  in  which  he  stands  in  respect  to  art  culture,  by 
his  acquaintance  with  the  finest  pictures  that  exist  in 
foreign  galleries,  and  especially  in  relation  to  antique 
sculpture." 

Much  controversy  arose  in  regard  to  the  additions  to 
the  committee ;  but  Rauch  was  finally  fully  appointed, 
May  1 6,  1829,  and  in  a  month  he  presented  a  plan  for 
placing  the  antique  sculpture  in  the  Rotunda,  and  for  the 
hall,  afterwards  called  that  of  "the  gods  and  heroes." 
A  year  was  passed  in  the  necessary  restorations,  in 
framing,  hanging,  and  placing  the  pictures,  and  at  last 
Rauch  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  the  result  of  eight 
years'  care. 

The  building  was  finished  in  1830,  and  Rauch  writes  to 
Rietschel,  "The  museum  of  statues  and  pictures  is  the 
most  delightful  which  I  have  ever  seen  for  similar  pur- 
poses, and  the  great  beauty  of  the  whole  pleases  me  yet 
more  than  the  finest  antique  statue." 

July  I,  1830,  the  king  visited  the  new  museum  for  the 
first  time,  with  the  Duke  of  Mecklenburg,  and  was  received 
by  Briihl,  Schinkel,  Tieck,  Wach,  Levezow,  and  Rauch. 
He  expressed  unconditional  satisfaction  with  the  work. 
The  museum  was  opened  to  the  public  on  the  third  of 
August,  as  an  offering  to  the  people,  on  the  king's  sixty- 
first  birthday.  On  the  same  day  the  news  of  the  Revolu- 
tion of  July  in  Paris  was  received  at  Berlin. 


GERMAN    ART. SCHOOLS    AND    MUSEUMS  115 

At  the  same  time  that  Rauch  was  working  so  busily 
with  others  for  the  great  museum,  he  was  actively  engaged 
in  his  atelier,  that  new  institution  of  art  which  he  con- 
trolled as  governor  and  final  authority.  It  would  be 
interesting  to  follow  in  detail  Rauch's  work  in  the  resto- 
ration of  statues,  but  it  would  require  too  much  space. 
He  says  that  "  from  1824  till  1829,  five  to  seven  workmen 
were  uninterruptedly  engaged  in  this  exacting  and  weary 
business.  Twenty-nine  subjects  were  wholly,  and  nine 
others  partly  finished.  As  he  was  going  to  Munich,  he 
left  what  further  work  remained  in  Tieck's  hands." 

Rauch  urges  the  purchase  of  two  bagnaroles  from  the 
ruins  of  the  baths  of  Diocletian,  although  the  restoration 
of  the  handles,  with  other  repairs  and  polishing,  will  cost 
two  thousand  scudi,  which  Humboldt  thinks  very  dear ; 
but  yet  the  finished  vessels  will  be  of  great  rarity  and 
beauty;  "for,"  he  says,  "besides  the  one  intended  for  your 
majesty,  there  is  only  one  similar,  and  that  of  less  beauty, 
in  the  Vatican  at  Rome."  The  king  approved  the  pur- 
chase, and  in  April,  1820,  they  arrived  in  Berlin,  and  were 
temporarily  placed  in  the  Art  Academy.  In  connection 
with  the  Danish  and  Russian  Museums,  he  procured  casts 
of  the  ^Eginetan  marbles,  and  thus  was  able  to  have  the 
whole  series  for  Berlin.  By  an  exchange  with  the  British 
museum  he  also  obtained  casts  of  some  of  the  Elgin  mar- 
bles, of  which  Caroline  von  Humboldt  had  written  him 
glowing  accounts. 

Rauch  took  pains  to  arouse  interest  in  every  direction, 
in  order  to  increase  the  collections.  He  tried  to  get  casts 
of  the  statues  in  the  Cologne  Cathedral,  and  asks  Beuth 
to  procure  anything  possible  in  London. 

October  12,  1820,  a  cabinet  order  was  issued,  by  which 
the  art  treasures  of  royal  palaces,  gardens,  and  galleries 
were  given  to  the  public  museums. 

Rauch  was  much  interested  in  the  picture  gallery,  and 
all  felt  confidence  not  only  in  his  taste,  but  in  his  skill  in 


Il6  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL   RAUCH 

managing  delicate  business  relations.  Different  museums 
eagerly  contested  for  the  different  collections  offered  for 
sale  from  time  to  time.  The  Giustiniani  collection,  which 
formed  the  groundwork  of  the  gallery,  needed  much  revis- 
ion and  restoration,  and  an  engagement  was  made  with  the 
painter  Palniaroli  to  put  the  pictures  in  order.  Rauch 
failed  to  get  the  fine  Boisseree  collection  of  pictures  ;  but, 
since  it  did  not  come  to  Berlin,  he  rejoiced  that  it  went 
to  Munich,  and  not  out  of  the  country.  He  succeeded  in 
getting  the  Solly  collection  of  three  thousand  and  six 
pieces,  which  needed  much  careful  selection.  Many  of 
the  pictures  obtained  were  copies,  or  of  inferior  merit ; 
some  were  injured,  and  some  not  wanted  in  the  museum 
were  reserved  for  exchanges,  or  to  fill  up  empty  spaces  in 
the  various  palaces.  One  thousand  one  hundred  and 
sixty-five  were  thought  suitable  for  the  gallery,  but  Rauch 
finally  rejected  many  of  these.  From  the  various  palaces 
Hirt  had  made  a  list  of  seven  hundred,  but  he  left  out 
four  hundred,  for  which  the  Solly  collection  made  ample 
amends.  With  the  addition  of  nine  purchased  pictures, 
among  which  were  two  pictures  by  Fiesole  (Fra  Angelico), 
and  one  by  Giovanni  Sanzio  (the  father  of  Raphael),  in 
the  year  1823  there  were  one  thousand  three  hundred  and 
forty-nine  pictures  as  a  foundation  of  the  future  gallery. 
Many  pictures  also  were  purchased  from  private  sources. 
The  restoration  and  framing  of  these  pictures  required 
much  time  and  money,  twelve  thousand  thalers  being  paid 
out  for  this  purpose  in  five  months. 

The  whole  amount  paid  for  restoration  of  pictures  ap- 
pears to  have  been  about  one  hundred  thousand  thalers. 

Count  Ingenheim  was  a  very  active  assistant  in  the  pur- 
chase of  pictures.  He  discovered  that  the  Prince  Lante 
had  a  Raphael  for  sale,  for  which  he  asked  one  thousand 
five  hundred  Louis  d'or.  Rauch  must  speak  to  the  crown 
prince ;  but,  as  he  was  just  then  interested  in  buying  a 
Roger  van  der  Weyden,  he  refused  to  give  more  than  a 


GERMAN    ART.  SCHOOLS    AND    MUSEUMS  1 1/ 

thousand.  Ingenheim  was  enthusiastic.  "  If  we  had  that 
picture  the  king  need  not  buy  another  for  the  museum." 
The  King  of  England  also  was  in  treaty  for  the  picture ; 
but  the  zeal  of  purchasers  was  a  little  cooled  by  the  opin- 
ion of  Camuccini  that  it  was  not  genuine,  and  was 
spoiled.  However,  neither  Waagen  nor  Schinkel  was 
convinced  of  this  ;  and  Waagen  counselled  the  purchase, 
although  he  did  not  think  it  one  of  the  finest  easel  pic- 
tures of  the  master. 

Not  until  1827  could  Emil  Wolff  write  to  Rauch  that 
the  picture  was  secured,  and  then  at  the  price  of  eight 
thousand  five  hundred  scudi,  besides  a  copy  of  the  picture 
by  Karl  Eggers,  and  a  portrait  of  the  Princess  Lante,  to  be 
made  by  Von  Grahl.  This  was  a  purchase  somewhat 
after  the  style  of  the  Sibylline  books,  and  even  then  the 
commission  "  degli  antichita  e  belle  arti"  objected  to 
the  sale;  but  the  Pope  declared  that  "the  friendship  of 
the  King  of  Prussia  is  more  important  to  me  than  a 
picture." 

In  preparing  the  sculpture  gallery,  Rauch  had  the  help 
and  sympathy  not  only  of  his  old  friends  Schinkel  and 
Humboldt,  but  the  active  co-operation  of  Emil  Wolff. 
Wolff  went  to  Rome  after  the  death  of  his  cousin  Rudolf 
Schadow  in  1822.  The  inheritance  of  his  cousin's  work 
fell  to  him.  He  had  been  a  pupil  of  the  elder  Schadow, 
and  was  under  the  powerful  influence  of  Thorwaldsen. 
He  occupied  the  apartment  of  Schadow,  and  took  up  the 
chisel  to  finish  his  group  of  "  Achilles  and  Penthesilea." 
He  became,  as  Schadow  had  been,  Rauch's  right-hand  man 
in  making  purchases  for  the  museum,  and  was  full  of  glow- 
ing enthusiam  ;  he  was  the  Roman  scholar  of  the  German 
master. 

In  the  Northern  capital  Wolff  was  engaged  in  working 
on  one  of  Thorwaldsen's  apostles,  which  were  executed  by 
young  sculptors  under  his  direction.  His  next  original 
work  was  a  monument  to  Rudolf  Schadow.  Schinkel 


Il8  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

writes  of  this  to  Ranch  in  1824,  "Wolff's  little  marble  re- 
lief on  Schadow's  grave  is  most  tenderly  felt  out  and 
finely  executed  ;  like  himself,  it  makes  no  pretensions,  and 
is  on  that  account  charming.  This  monument  is  remark- 
able for  its  successful  blending  of  antique  symbolism,  in  a 
laurel-crowned  victory  presenting  a  wreath,  with  a  figure 
of  Christ  welcoming  the  parted  soul.  Rauch  later  failed 
in  such  an  attempt  in  the  Bliicher  Berlin  monument,  and 
only  when  an  old  man,  in  the  monument  of  Frederic  the 
Great,  succeeded  in  the  representation  of  such  a  union. 
Wolff  sends  his  sketches  to  Rauch  for  criticism,  and 
expresses  the  greatest  gratitude  for  his  advice,  which 
he  says  he  shall  certainly  follow;  unfortunately  Rauch's 
share  in  the  correspondence  is  lost. 

Count  Ingenheim  was  also  a  very  important  helper :  he 
would  often  make  a  purchase  with  his  own  means,  and 
trust  to  the  king's  taking  the  picture  for  the  museum. 
Casts  of  many  of  the  finest  antique  statues  were  thus  pro- 
cured, besides  bronzes  and  collections  of  Etruscan  remains. 
Ingenheim  kept  watch  of  all  the  excavations  in  Rome, 
partly  to  secure  a  quantity  of  seemingly  worthless  old 
fragments  of  weather-stained  marble,  which  Rauch  could 
use  in  his  restorations.  Wilhelm  von  Humboldt  speaks 
with  the  highest  praise  of  the  restorations  planned  by 
Rauch,  and  during  his  absence  carried  on  by  Tieck.  "  I 
think  I  can  say  with  perfect  truth  that  they  are  models 
worthy  of  imitation,  and  that  no  other  museum  rejoices 
in  such  perfectly  arranged,  such  carefully  thought  out,  and 
beautifully  executed  restorations  as  these." 

Rauch  profited  by  his  journey  to  Italy  to  obtain  casts 
for  increasing  the  collections  in  the  museum.  He  sent  to 
Berlin  whatever  casts  he  could  get  of  Thorwaldsen's 
works.  The  minister,  Altenstein,  commissioned  him  to 
obtain  at  once  casts  of  the  Amazon  of  the  Capitol,  "  A 
Daughter  of  Niobe,"  and  the  group  of  "Menelaus  and 
Patroclus  "  in  Florence,  and  also  to  inquire  with  regard  to 


GERMAN  ..ART.  SCHOOLS    AND    MUSEUMS  119 

the  cost  of  copies  of  the  Ghiberti  gates  in  the  Baptistery 
at  Florence.  These  last  proved  too  costly  to  purchase. 

A  controversy  now  arose  in  regard  to  the  comparative 
importance  of  art  and  science  in  the  museum,  and  it  was 
complained  that  much  more  money  was  spent  for  pictures 
and  statues  than  for  objects  of  scientific  and  archaeologi- 
cal interest.  Rauch,  of  course,  took  the  artistic  side  very 
warmly,  and  Dr.  Eggers  allows  that  even  his  judgment 
was  a  little  warped  by  strong  personal  feeling.  He  was 
anxious  that  his  friend  Ruscheweyh  should  be  employed 
to  engrave  the  treasures  of  the  museum  ;  but  he  finds 
little  co-operation  from  his  colleagues.  Later,  when  he 
thinks  he  has  secured  the  consent  of  the  commission,  the 
death  of  the  engraver  puts  an  end  to  the  plan.  His 
greatest  satisfaction  is  in  the  work  of  Wolff,  who  con- 
tinues to  send  him  word  of  whatever  can  be  procured  of 
value.  In  1832  casts  of  the  Arch  of  Constantine  were 
sent  to  Berlin.  Only  a  few  original  works  of  sculpture 
were  bought  at  this  time.  The  policy  of  purchasing  casts 
of  the  best  works  every  year  has  been  steadily  pursued, 
and  now  it  is  said  that  Berlin  has  the  most  complete  col- 
lection of  this  nature  in  existence.  It  is  of  immense 
value  to  students,  who  have  the  masterpieces  of  different 
epochs  and  different  schools,  side  by  side,  for  comparison. 

A  little  anecdote  related  to  me  by  the  son  of  Rauch's 
old  friend,  Chevalier  von  Bunsen,  will  give  us  a  parting 
glimpse  of  the  master  in  the  enjoyment  of  the  works  of 
art  that  he  had  toiled  so  many  years  to  collect.  "  I  had 
not  long  been  entered  on  the  books  of  the  Berlin  Uni- 
versity, in  1843,"  he  writes,  "when  Rauch,  an  old  friend 
of  my  father's,  accosted  the  shy  lad  one  evening  at  the 
house  of  an  acquaintance.  '  Have  you  seen  any  sights  ? ' 
he  asked.  '  Only  the  Museum  of  Antiquities,'  was  the 
answer.  '  And  what  did  you  like  best  there  ? '  —  'I  could 
look  at  nothing  after  the  head  of  Julius  Caesar.'  — '  Well,' 
he  said,  placing  his  mighty  hand  on  my  shoulder,  '  let  me 


I2O  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

tell  you  that  I  cannot  live  without  it.  In  my  house  there 
are  three  casts  of  it.'  ' 

From  the  middle  of  January,  1819,  Rauch's  letters  are 
full  of  jubilee  over  the  final  completion  of  the  Lager- 
haus.  He  is  delighted  with  the  arrangements,  which  he 
minutely  describes.  "  How  fine  the  workshops  are !  A 
foundation  for  a  museum  could  not  be  nobler  and  more 
fitting.  There  is  an  ornamental  window  case  ;  what  splen- 
dor ! "  It  is  his  constant  joy  to  watch  the  progress  of 
the  work ;  and  he  calls  all  his  friends  to  come  and  rejoice 
with  him.  He  wants  Tieck ;  but  Tieck,  formerly  so 
impatient  to  come,  now  is  not  ready.  Rauch  constantly 
urges  him,  and  writes  him  every  detail  of  preparation, 
and  what  to  bring  him  :  as  fine  paper  from  Florence, 
sponges  for  modelling,  a  cask  of  pumice-stone,  etc.  He 
goes  into  the  cost  of  sugar,  coffee,  meat,  butter,  but 
breaks  off,  saying,  "  What  would  people  say  if  such  an 
unartistic  letter  fell  into  other  hands  ?  But,  after  all, 
are  we  not  striving  for  the  general  good  of  art,  to  place  a 
god  in  his  chariot  and  Bliicher  on  his  granite  pedestal ;  to 
say  nothing  of  heroes,  emperors,  etc  ?  "  And  then  he  con- 
siders the  important  political  question  whether  Wilhelm 
von  Humboldt  will  accept  the  call  to  the  ministry  of 
state. 

Rauch  was  almost  wild  with  impatience  for  Tieck's 
arrival.  Everything  was  ready ;  even  the  troublesome 
disputes  with  the  former  occupants  of  the  Lagerhaus  (for 
an  execution  had  to  be  served  on  the  princesses  to  get 
them  out)  were  settled,  and  he  could,  in  a  certain  sense, 
now  call  the  house  his  own.  Tieck's  rooms  were  all 
ready,  and  even  the  watch-guard,  which  he  had  asked 
Agnes  to  work  for  him,  lay  on  his  table.  Franceschino 
is  full  of  impatience  to  greet  his  father  in  the  new  Eng- 
lish coat  which  the  master  has  given  him  for  his  faithful 
service. 

Tieck  writes  that  he  has  not  the  money  for  the  journey, 


GERMAN    ART.  — SCHOOLS    AND    MUSEUMS  121 

and  Rauch  sends  him  an  order  on  Leghorn ;  but  Tieck 
has  already  started  before  this  letter  arrives,  and  on  the 
twenty-seventh  of  April  Rauch  goes  to  Potsdam  to  meet 
him.  Franceschino  went  also,  embraced  his  father,  and 
welcomed  the  Lazzarini,  father  and  son,  and  Ceccardo. 
The  last  of  July  the  moulder,  Domenico  Bianconi,  was 
added  to  the  company  which  formed  the  working  force  of 
the  atelier. 

All  went  busily  to  work.  Rauch  built  up  Biilow  and 
Scharnhorst,  and  modelled  on  the  reliefs,  while  Tieck 
took  direction  of  the  work  for  the  theatre.  The  work- 
men, being  well  paid,  were  delighted  with  the  change,  and 
did  wonders.  In  June  Rauch  could  show  the  king  the 
design  for  the  Biilow  statue. 

Thus  was  Rauch's  desire  fulfilled,  and  he  was  estab- 
lished as  the  centre  of  the  school  of  sculpture,  which 
continued  forty  years  under  the  direction  of  its  founder, 
and  brought  forth  the  many  noble  works  that  have  adorned 
his  country,  and  given  lustre  to  his  name. 


122  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 


CHAPTER   VII 

RAUCH    AND    GOETHE 
1797-1832 

ONE  of  the  most  interesting  circumstances  of  Rauch's 
artistic  career  is  his  relation  to  one  "by  whose  spirit  no 
one  in  this  century  has  remained  uninfluenced."  Fortu- 
nately we  have  full  record  of  this  friendship. 

The  bust  of  Goethe,  which  Rauch  began  to  model  in 
1820,  when  Goethe  was  seventy  years  old,  led  to  a  con- 
stantly increasing  intimacy  between  the  sculptor,  then 
forty-three  years  old,  and  rapidly  developing  his  powers, 
and  the  great  leader  in  all  national  literature  and  art. 

One  of  the  earliest  works  of  art  that  ever  drew  the  atten- 
tion of  the  boy  sculptor  was  a  bust  of  Goethe,  by  Trip- 
pels,  in  the  castle  at  Arolsen  ;  'and  he  listened  with  eager- 
ness in  the  atelier  of  Ruhl  to  all  he  could  tell  him  of  the 
man  whom  this  masterpiece  represented.  And  almost  the 
last  artistic  thought  of  the  dying  sculptor  was  that  he 
might  yet  improve  his  work,  and  finish  the  model  for 
the  group  of  the  great  poets  Goethe  and  Schiller. 

When  at  twenty  years  of  age  Rauch  waited  in  the  ante- 
chamber of  Queen  Louise,  he  had  already  in  his  evening 
studies  taken  for  his  guide  into  the  region  of  art  Goethe's 
Propylean,  "  where  head  and  heart  both  entered  into  their 
rights."  Later,  the  "second  part  of  Faust  took  possession 
of  his  soul,"  and  Schinkel  was  to  him  "the  dearest  inter- 
preter of  this  wonderful  poem."  His  diary  gives  frequent 
evidence  of  his  interest  in  the  poet,  whom  he  often  names, 
and  at  last  he  says  his  "understanding  has  increased 


KAUCH    AND    GOETHE  123 

through  the  circumstance  that  he  has  made  Goethe's  per- 
sonal acquaintance,  and  has  experienced  the  immediate 
influence  of  his  speaking  presence."  He  said  to  Lewes 
that  "  Goethe's  talk  on  art  had  roused  an  enthusiasm 
which  influenced  his  whole  life."  Already  intimate  with 
Schadow  and  Tieck,  Goethe  wished  to  come  into  relation 
with  this  artistic  power,  to  give  to,  and  receive  from 
him. 

Frauvon  Humboldt  had  written  to  him  in  1812,  speak- 
ing in  high  praise  of  the  statue  of  the  queen.  The  first 
meeting  proposed  on  Ranch's  return  from  Italy  fell 
through  on  account  of  Goethe's  absence  in  Carlsbad,  and 
so  in  the  summer  of  1820  occurred  the  first  personal  intro- 
duction in  Jena.  On  the  twenty-fourth  of  September 
Rauch  sent  the  first  cast  of  the  bust  of  Goethe,  begun  in 
Jena,  to  an  academic  exhibition.  In  October  the  crown 
prince  received  a  cast  for  his  birthday  ;  two  were  sent  to 
Goethe,  and  one  to  Stein  in  Breslau.  Stein  writes  of  it 
thus  :  "  One  first  rightly  sees  that  a  whole  world  lies  in 
his  eyes,  when  one  has  him  quiet  before  him  in  a  bust, 
and  is  not  distracted  by  what  he  is  saying,  and  there  is 
not  the  space  of  an  eyelash  in  the  face  wherein  there 
is  not  character  and  likeness."  The  bust  was  sent  to  his 
old  friend  in  Copenhagen,  Frederika  Brunn.  She  stood 
with  Lund  a  half-hour  before  it,  and  exclaimed,  "  My 
God,  it  seems  at  last  to  breathe!"  The  bust  was  every- 
where recognized  and  praised.  This  success  led  Goethe's 
friends  to  consider  the  idea  of  enlisting  Rauch's  co-opera- 
tion in  carrying  out  the  plan  of  a  monument  in  Frankfort, 
already  suggested. 

On  Goethe's  seventy-first  birthday,  1819,  Thorwaldsen 
took  part  in  the  festival  at  Frankfort.  The  inspiring  hour 
gave  to  Sulpice  Boisseree  the  idea  of  having  a  statue  of  the 
honored  poet  in  his  birthplace.  Thorwaldsen  agreed  to 
it  later,  and  a  Denkmal  Verein  was  formed.  Boisseree, 
Staatsrath  von  Bethmann,  and  Herr  Brentano,  with  others, 


124  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

were  on  the  committee,  and  to  them  was  given  the  carry- 
ing out  of  the  project.  It  was  planned  to  erect  a  temple 
of  marble  and  bronze  in  some  beautiful  spot  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Frankfort,  and  to  have  a  statue  by  Dannecker. 
The  inner  wall,  lighted  from  above,  should  have  a  frieze 
ornamented  with  subjects  from  Herrmann  and  Dorothea. 

Thorwaldsen  approved  the  plan  in  general,  but  sug- 
gested that  the  subjects  should  be  more  varied,  and 
drawn  from  other  poems  of  Goethe.  Boisseree  gives 
the  commission  to  Dannecker,  and  begs  Goethe  to  allow 
the  necessary  sittings.  Goethe  consents  to  this,  but 
adds,  "  It  is  truly  a  serious  matter  to  send  a  sculptor 
where  he  no  longer  finds  forms,  where  nature  on  her 
retreat  burdens  herself  with  the  necessary  only."  He 
therefore  proposes  a  face  mask  taken  by  Gall  six  years 
before  as  the  foundation  of  the  bust.  The  committee, 
however,  insist  on  a  new  one  ;  but  for  a  year  no  meeting 
of  the  poet  and  sculptor  can  take  place,  on  account  of  the 
illness  of  Dannecker's  wife.  This  is  a  serious  interrup- 
tion, for  Goethe  thinks  "  the  woodcock  of  life  is  whirring 
by,  and  must  be  hit  with  a  quick  shot,"  and,  speaking 
under  correction,  he  proposes  Rauch  as  the  maker  of  the 
bust.  Dannecker  has  made  the  same  proposal,  on  account 
of  the  hindrance  to  his  own  work.  Scarcely  four  weeks 
later  the  meeting  between  Goethe  and  Rauch  took  place, 
among  whose  results  was  the  bust.  Goethe  declared  the 
handling  of  the  bust  "truly  grandiose." 

Much  discussion  took  place  about  the  proper  position 
for  the  monument,  as  the  site  first  suggested  was  found 
to  be  very  costly.  Goethe  proposed  uniting  the  monu- 
ment with  the  library,  but  others  were  unwilling  to  give 
up  the  idea  of  its  being  an  ornament  to  the  city. 

In  the  summer  of  1821  the  official  commission  was  first 
porposed  to  Rauch  through  Boisseree,  who  wished  to  know 
the  cost  of  a  marble  bust,  and  eventually  of  a  marble 
statue. 


RAUCH    AND    GOETHE  125 

Rauch  was  not  pleased  with  the  plan.  He  wrote  to 
Frau  von  Humboldt,  "  A  colossal  bust  in  a  temple  with 
closed  doors,  standing  in  an  open  space,  does  not  please 
me.  The  facade  of  the  house  where  Goethe  was  born, 
with  a  statue  of  him,  would  make  a  fitter  monument.  The 
confectionery  temples  on  the  islands  and  promenades  are 
a  horror  to  me;  but  I  think  the  gentlemen  will  come  to 
sounder  thoughts,  by  which  much  expense  will  be  saved." 
He  replies  to  the  committee,  however,  that  a  likeness  of 
Goethe  of  the  size  of  the  Dannecker  bust  of  Schiller,  on 
an  8X9  foot-support,  corresponding  to  the  proposed 
plan,  to  be  represented  after  the  Greek  manner  as  an 
undraped  Hermes,  or  after  the  Roman  manner,  having 
the  breast  covered  with  folds,  with  a  pedestal,  would  cost 
from  about  nine  hundred  to  a  thousand  thalers.  A  stand- 
ing or  sitting  figure,  3X4  inches  over  life-size,  would  cost 
thirty-eight  hundred  to  four  thousand  thalers. 

He  did  not  conceal  his  opinion  of  the  plan  from  Bois- 
seree. A  lively  discussion  of  differing  views  followed, 
but  at  last,  after  eight  months,  a  compromise  was  effected. 
Boisseree  gave  Rauch  a  commission  for  a  statue,  and 
asked  for  sketches  for  a  standing  or  a  sitting  figure  which, 
if  not  in  a  separate  building,  might  be  placed  in  an  open, 
well-lighted  room  in  some  large  public  building. 

Earnest  discussion  as  to  the  costume  then  began. 
Rauch  wished  it  to  be  either  fully  classical  or  entirely 
modern,  while  others  thought  the  one  too  strange  for  the 
well-known  poet,  and  the  other  too  familiar  for  a  stately 
monument.  A  mixture  of  Greek  robes  with  necktie  and 
boots  seemed  to  be  demanded.  Rauch  wanted  a  classi- 
cally draped  statue  in  the  open  air,  Boisseree  one  in  boots 
in  a  room.  Achim  von  Arnim  left  no  stone  unturned  to 
connect  the  statue  with  the  library,  as  Rauch  himself  had 
once  suggested.  Then  the  local  press  took  up  the  ques- 
tion. Rauch  communicated  to  the  papers  his  idea  of 
uniting  a  building  for  the  Stadel  Museum  with  the  library. 


126  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

But  there  was  dispute  not  only  over  the  place,  but  over  the 
statue  itself.  Bettina  von  Arnim  had  designed  a  group 
representing  in  antique  costume  the  poet,  whose  lyre 
Psyche  is  tuning. 

Bettina's  design  was  a  very  fanciful  and  pleasing  ex- 
pression of  her  own  sentiment ;  but  as  she  herself  expresses 
it,  "  I  was  thought  capable  of  forming  the  idea,  though  at 
that  time  I  had  never  interfered  with  the  arts."  But  this 
"glorified  production  of  her  love"  could  not,  of  course, 
satisfy  the  thoroughly  artistic  demands  of  Rauch.  Bet- 
tina mistook  inspiration  for  creation.  She  had  the  fancy, 
but  not  the  forming  power  of  an  artist.  No  opinion  of 
her  design  was  directly  asked  of  Rauch,  although  it  was 
hoped  that  he  would  give  one ;  but  although  he  preferred 
to  keep  silence  in  public  regarding  it,  he  expressed  his 
views  very  frankly  to  Professor  Ritter,  in  a  letter  which  I 
am  obliged  to  translate  somewhat  freely,  as  we  have  only 
a  rough  sketch  of  it. 

RAUCH  TO  RITTER. 

To  PROFESSOR  HERR  RITTER  IN  BERLIN,  —  I  have  the  honor  to  reply 
to  the  question  of  Herr  von  Bethmann  of  the  seventeenth  of  January,  sent 
to  me  by  your  excellency. 

I  have  seen  with  pleasure  the  drawing  of  Frau  Bettina  von  Arnim,  repre- 
senting Goethe  grouped  in  a  sitting  attitude,  with  a  naked  young  female 
figure,  and  lyre,  and  also  later  the  small  model  wrought  in  clay  after  this 
drawing,  by  the  help  of  the  sculptor  Wichmann. 

The  idyllish  representation  of  Goethe  on  the  Gothic  seat  richly  orna- 
mented with  pictures,  with  the  laurel  crown  in  the  right  hand,  and  in  the  left 
the  lyre,  and  the  other  accessories,  may  succeed  in  a  picture  or  relief,  as 
Michael  Angelo  has  successfully  shown  in  the  Sistine  Chapel, I  keeping 
the  principal  subject  uninjured,  while  making  clear  the  desired  image  of  the 
poet ;  but  as  a  personal  (iconisc/ie)  statue,  which  should  immortalize  the 
characteristic  personality  of  the  one  to  be  represented,  it  is  thoroughly  im- 
possible ;  that  should  be  done  in  a  work  of  sculpture  with  the  greatest  pos- 
sible simplicity  of  truth  and  breadth,  as  the  Greek,  the  Roman,  and  even 
newer  works,  sufficiently  teach  us. 

If  a  similar  thought  had  been  given  to  me  in  words  or  writing  as  the 
subject  of  this  monument,  I  should  not  have  hesitated  a  moment  to  carry  it 
out  according  to  my  own  arrangement.  But  I  cannot  undertake  it  after  the 
1  This  refers  to  the  Daniel  in  the  Sistine  Chapel. 


RAUCH    AND    GOETHE  \2J 

sketch  of  Frau  von  Arnim  and  Herr  von  Wichmann,  since,  as  a  round  work 
of  sculpture,  the  lines  and  forms  are  neither  practicable  nor  beautiful,  and 
its  execution  in  marble  would  involve  the  greatest  obstacles,  which  could 
only  be  overcome  with  great  effort  and  skill,  of  which  the  sculptor  would 
have  the  trouble  and  the  designer  the  praise. 

The  execution  in  marble  of  the  above-named  model  in  full  size  may 
probably  cost  two  thousand  thalers  more  than  than  of  a  statue  without  such 
accompaniments.  Other  grounds  against  the  taking  of  this  design,  even 
as  weighty,  I  would  wish  to  impart  to  you  by  word  of  mouth. 

FEB.  10,  1825. 

Rauch's  zeal  was  not  cooled  by  all  this  difficulty.  He 
sent  an  estimate  of  five  hundred  and  ten  thalers,  and  made 
out  an  inventory  of  the  sitting  figures  of  antiquity  from  the 
bronzes  and  pictures  of  Herculaneum,  the  museum  Pio 
Clementino,  etc.,  and  began  his  work.  He  sends  his  sketch 
first  not  to  Frankfort,  but  to  Weimar.  Goethe  prefers  a 
standing  figure.  "  The  sitting  figure,"  he  says,  "  if  not  man- 
aged with  great  taste,  has  something  heavy,  but  it  is  easy 
to  know  where  to  put  a  standing  figure ;  every  niche-like 
recess  in  the  wall  is  a  suitable  place."  He  also  decidedly 
preferred  the  antique  costume,  and  objected  to  the  Psyche 
group  as  not  at  all  suited  to  the  round.  In  a  small  relief 
it  might  be  a  pretty  idea.  Ranch  made  new  sketches  to 
suit  Goethe's  ideas,  and  declared  himself  ready  to  go  to 
Weimar,  whither  he  accordingly  went  with  his  daughter 
Agnes,  June  18,  1824.  He  was  warmly  welcomed  by 
the  Goethe  family.  He  finds  Goethe  very  little  changed, 
full  of  life  and  health,  wonderfully  upright  in  person,  his 
eyes  full  of  life,  and  the  color  of  his  face  of  almost  youth- 
ful bloom,  so  that  he  feels  ashamed  of  his  bust,  that  looks 
older  than  nature.  The  days  were  passed  in  delightful 
artistic  discussions.  The  plans  for  the  museum  met 
Goethe's  full  approval,  and  the  object  of  the  journey, 
the  Goethe  statue,  was  not  forgotten.  Rauch  measured 
Goethe's  height,  which  was  six  feet,  one  and  two-thirds 
inches,  or  one  hundred  and  seventy-four  centimetres. 

The  Frankfort  people  became  impatient  of  delay,  and 


128  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN,  DANIEL    RAUCH 

were  anxious  to  have  the  statue  for  the  celebration'  of 
Goethe's  fifty  years  of  service.  The  models  are  at  last 
sent,  and  subjected  to  criticism.  Dannecker  praises  them 
freely,  and  Boisseree  says,  "  You  have  not  only  represented 
Goethe's  traits  with  the  greatest  truth,  but  you  have  known 
how  to  breathe  his  spirit  into  the  work,  and  there  is  no 
doubt  that  the  statue  executed  after  this  bust  will  be  a 
thoroughly  worthy  .monument."  He  then  makes  some 
minute  criticisms  of  the  limbs,  and  the  want  of  freedom  in 
the  sitting  position.  He  suggests  that  the  sandals  should 
be  exchanged  for  shoes,  as  approaching  modern  costume 
more  nearly,  but  supposes  that  the  bareness  of  the  arm 
may  demand  a  corresponding  nakedness  of  the  foot. 

Bethmann  now  takes  the  matter  into  his  own  hands,  and, 
having  received  from  Rauch  the  contract  tor  the  price 
according  to  his  sketches,  he  says,  "  To-day  Goethe's  fifty 
years  of  service  are  celebrated  in  Weimar.  I  believe  the 
day  cannot  be  better  honored  than  by  signing  this  con- 
tract." Nov.  7,  1825. 

Rauch  announces  to  Goethe  that  one  of  his  dearest 
wishes  is  fulfilled,  and  that  "  with  living  interest  he  will  go 
to  hard  work."  Goethe  responds  in  a  very  warm  letter, 
expressing  his  delight  that  what  he  has  wished  and  longed 
for  is  to  take  bodily  shape.  But  a  year  later  Bethmann 
died,  and  Boisseree  took  up  the  work  with  fresh  interest, 
urging  Rauch  to  its  completion. 

Rauch  answers  him,  April,  1827,  that  the  great  model 
of  the  statue  will  be  begun  this  spring,  "at  which,  after 
so  many  '  herren  Stadtholders*  '  en  pantalon,'  "  he  says, 
"  I  am  much  delighted.  I  hope  that  my  longing  after 
nude  arms  and  legs,  at  least  after  a  costume  that  does  not 
arbitrarily  conceal  the  form,  will  be  justified."  Goethe 
also  speaks  of  Bethmann's  loss  as  a  death-blow,  but  hopes 
that  he  himself  may  live  to  see  the  completion  of  this 
monument  of  Rauch's  art  and  personal  regard. 

Yet  this  is  the  last  that  we  hear  of  it  for  ten  years. 


RAUCH    AND    GOETHE  129 

Bethmann's  heirs  do  nothing  towards  carrying  out  the 
commission,  and  Rauch  had  no  disposition  to  touch  the 
statue  while  it  remained  uncertain  whether,  according  to 
his  wish  and  Goethe's,  it  would  ever  be  a  public  monument. 

While  this  matter  of  the  Frankfort  monument  was 
under  consideration,  a  lively  correspondence  was  kept  up 
between  Goethe  and  Rauch,  who  seemed  to  draw  nearer 
together  in  affection  as  well  as  in  interest  in  art.  The 
artist  Meyer  acted  as  Goethe's  pen.  Rauch  sent  draw- 
ings and  models  of  various  sorts  for  Louise  Seidler,  the 
instructress  in  drawing  of  the  young  princesses ;  and 
Goethe  often  sent  Rauch  little  poems,  among  them  one  on 
the  unveiling  of  the  Bliicher  statue  in  Rostock,  1819. 

The  next  principal  subject  of  consideration  was  a  medal 
for  the  jubilee  of  the  Grand  Duke  of  Weimar.  Rauch 
had  taken  a  great  interest  in  the  stamping  of  coins  by 
Brandt,  and  had  especially  admired  a  head  of  the  king, 
with  an  eagle  on  the  reverse.  "  We  believe  that  even  on 
Greek  and  Roman  coins  no  finer  image  of  an  eagle  is  to 
be  found."  He  hoped  "that  the  royal  Prussian  coins  in 
future  would  be  distinguished  as  works  of  art  among 
those  of  other  cultivated  nations,  and  that  posterity  would 
have  through  them  a  proof  of  the  continued  efforts  and 
art-industry  of  their  ancestors,  as  is  the  case  with  us  in 
regard  to  Greek  and  Roman  coins."  Goethe  was  also 
much  interested  in  this  art,  and,  naturally,  especially  so  in 
regard  to  the  medal  of  the  grand  duke.  He  ordered  a 
sketch  of  full  size,  the  medallion  having  for  the  face  the 
likeness  of  the  prince  in  a  wreath,  and  for  the  reverse  a 
suitable  symbolic  figure.  He  wished  Rauch  to  consult 
over  the  design  with  Tieck,  as  "  the  artist  formerly  con- 
nected with  Wiemar,"  and  with  Brandt  on  the  work  of 
the  cutting  and  the  cost. 

Three  proofs  of  the  medal  were  sent  in  May.  The 
face  with  the  likeness  of  the  duke  gave  satisfaction,  but 
for  the  reverse  Goethe  proposed  the  zodiac,  so  placed  that 


I3O  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

the  scales  should  be  uppermost,  as  a  symbol  of  the  jubi- 
lee month  of  September,  with  the  inscription  :  — 

DER   FUNFZIGSTEN   WIEDERKEHR.     MDCCCXXV. 

From  Berlin  came  some  proposals  of  change ;  and  discus- 
sions ensued  as  to  the  color  of  the  bronze.  The  medal 
gave  much  satisfaction,  and  Rauch,  Tieck,  and  Brandt 
each  received  a  copy  in  silver  and  in  bronze. 

At  this  time  Goethe  sent  to  Rauch  a  letter  introducing 
to  him  "  Demoiselle  Facius,  daughter  of  a  medal  and 
stone  cutter  of  this  place,  who  has  inherited  a  love  of,  and 
a  capacity  for,  art  from  her  father,  and  who  is  going  with 
Herr  Posch  to  Berlin,  in  that  world  of  art  to  become 
aware  of  what  is  demanded  of  the  artist,  and  to  what  she 
should  educate  herself."  In  April  Rauch  wrote  that  the 
young  artist  came  to  the  atelier  to  work  on  medals.  The 
correspondence  on  both  sides  shows  great  interest  in 
the  young  woman's  work.  Goethe  is  delighted  with  some 
busts  sent  to  him,  "  which  plainly  show  that  she  has  the 
good  fortune  to  possess  a  rich  art  element,  and  to  be 
enlightened  and  helped  by  the  master's  inspiring  sun- 
beams." The  young  girl  did  credit  to  the  interest  they 
took  in  her,  showing  herself  not  unskilful,  both  in  busts 
and  bass-reliefs.  In  expressing  to  Rauch  his  satisfaction 
with  the  medal  of  the  grand  duke,  Goethe  had  said  that 
he  hoped  they  might  work  together  again  ;  and  a  welcome 
opportunity  soon  came. 

Ten  weeks  later  the  grand  duke  called  Rauch  to 
Weimar  to  arrange  a  fifty  years'  jubilee  for  Goethe.  He 
proposed  to  have  a  medallion,  whose  front  should  bear 
Goethe's  profile  after  Rauch's  bust,  and  its  reverse  a  fly- 
ing eagle  bearing  a  laurel  crown.  This  plan  was  changed, 
however,  and  the  medal  was  to  bear  on  the  reverse  the 
united  profile  heads  of  the  grand  ducal  pair.  The  work 
was  committed  to  Brandt.  But  neither  was  the  medal 
ready  at  the  appointed  time,  nor  was  the  work  satisfac- 


RAUCH    AND    GOETHE  13! 

tory  ;  and  Rauch  begs  further  time  for  the  engraver,  that 
important  changes  may  be  made,  so  that  the  work  shall  be 
equally  good  with  that  of  the  grand  duke's  medal.  Goethe 
cordially  consented  to  the  delay,  and  the  supervision  of 
the  whole  work  was  given  to  Rauch.  The  medal,  as 
finally  executed  in  1826,  shows  Goethe's  head  with  laurel 
wreath  and  toga,  and  the  inscription  :  — 

KARL  AUGUST  UND  LUISE.  —  GOETHEN  ZUM  VII.  NOVEMBER 
MDCCCXXV. 

On  the  other  side  are  the  profile  heads  of  the  duke  and 
duchess  draped  with  the  toga. 

Goethe  wrote  to  Rauch  a  most  cordial  letter  of  thanks, 
recognizing  Brandt's  patient  and  faithful  work,  and  rejoi- 
cing in  his  success  after  so  many  trials.  He  concludes  : 
"  May  the  reflection  and  conviction  for  which,  in  the 
course  of  this  year,  he  has  had  opportunity,  work  right 
powerfully  for  good  in  his  future  career."  Goethe  ex- 
pressed much  pleasure  in  this  recognition  by  his  friends, 
although  he  had  said  that  a  more  fitting  memorial  was  the 
proposed  edition  of  his  works  by  Cotta,  "  which,  from  my 
own  material,  endeavors  to  raise  for  me  an  enduring 
monument." 

About  this  time  Rauch  suffered  severely  from  sympathy 
with  his  beloved  daughter  Agnes,  who  had  formed  a  mar- 
riage engagement  which  proved  most  unfortunate,  and 
was  finally  broken.  We  have  not  his  own  words  regard- 
ing this  matter,  but  we  catch  the  echo  of  them  in  this 
beautiful  letter  of  Goethe's,  which  shows  such  frankness 
of  affection,  and  tenderness  of  sympathy,  as  make  it  the 
best  memorial  of  this  noble  friendship. 

GOETHE  TO  RAUCH. 

"  That  you,  dear,  honored  man,  in  the  moment  of  a  heavy  grief  turn 
your  thoughts  to  me,  confer  with  me,  and  feel  some  alleviation  of  your  sor- 
row, gives  me  the  grateful  certainty  of  an  inward,  sincere,  good  feeling,  of  a 
tender,  cordial  relation  such  as  I  have  ever  felt  towards  you. 


132  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

"  You  thus  show  that  you  are  sure  of  my  truest  sympathy,  of  a  real  par- 
ticipation in  that  trouble  which  violates,  in  its  worthiest  activity,  a  relation 
rich  in  spiritual  forces,  a  beautiful,  noble  exercise  of  the  happiest  talent, 
and  injures  it  in  its  very  depths.  So  to  me,  with  the  deepest  sympathy  in 
your  grief,  it  is  yet  some  comfort  to  answer  you  at  once.  Even  so  to  me, 
during  a  long  life,  events  have  come  which,  out  of  seemingly  bright  condi- 
tions, have  unfolded  a  train  of  misfortunes ;  and  there  are  fearful  moments 
in  which  one  might  hold  a  short  life  as  the  greatest  blessing,  that  one  need 
not  bear  an  insupportable  sorrow  for  an  immeasurably  long  time.  Many  suf- 
ferers have  gone  before  me,  but  on  me  was  the  duty  laid  to  continue,  and  to 
bear  a  succession  of  joy  and  pain  of  which  any  single  instance  might  well 
have  been  fatal. 

"  In  such  cases  nothing  remains  but  to  call  up  once  more,  in  the  most 
earnest  way,  the  activity  that  still  remains  possible,  and,  like  one  engaged  in 
a  deadly  warfare,  to  continue  the  struggle  as  vigorously  when  it  goes  against 
us  as  when  all  is  in  our  favor. 

"  And  so  have  I  fought  my  way  through,  even  to  the  present  day,  when 
to  the  highest  fortune  which  might  ever  raise  a  man  above  himself,  so  much 
that  moderates  it  is  added,  that  it  admonishes  and  obliges  me  from  hour  to 
hour  to  be  true  to  myself,  and  for  myself,  in  order  to  remain  indifferent 
to  that  which  one  is  justified  in  calling  '  tricks  of  fate.'  If  I  knew  how  to 
find  no  other  means,  yet  it  must  certainly  be  wholesome  for  every  one,  who 
by  his  nature  is  fitted  for  noble  creative  activity,  to  set  aside  the  repulsive 
sense  of  unforeseen  hindrance,  and,  in  so  far  as  it  is  given  to  men,  aspire  to 
reinstate  himself. 

"  The  foregoing  thoughts,  flowing  out  of  my  own  experience,  may  show 
that,  in  connection  with  the  sad  event  that  has  happened  to  you,  the  memory 
of  earlier  sorrow  has  become  living  in  my  soul,  and  that  at  the  same  time 
my  spirit  has  called  up  all  that  has  been  helpful  to  me.  While  it  cannot 
heal,  may  this  heartfelt  sympathy  have  power,  at  least  for  the  moment,  to 
soothe  your  pain ! 

"  With  return  of  all  most  friendly  and  sincere  greetings. 

"  Let  me  soon  speak  to  you  of  artists  and  works  of  art,  of  masters,  ap- 
prentices, and  scholars,  and  in  many  questions,  wishes,  and  hopes  express 
my  sympathy. 

Most  truly, 

J.   W.  VON  GOETHE. 

WEIMAR,  the  twenty-first  of  October,  1827. 

Rauch  answered  this  affectionate  letter  a  fortnight 
later,  and  his  answer  is  again  full  of  artistic  themes.  He 
says,  "  I  may  truly  say  that  the  only  true  satisfaction  that 
yet  remains  to  me  is  to  quicken  my  life  by  plastic  art." 
This  correspcndence  was  soon  interrupted  by  a  visit  to 
Weimar  in  June.  Rauch  left  Berlin  to  take  Agnes  away 


RAUCH    AND    GOETHE  133 

from  the  Pyrmont  Cure,  and  to  have  a  brief  vacation  for 
himself.  He  found  his  daughter  restored  to  blooming 
health,  and  enjoyed  eight  days  in  visits  to  old  friends 
and  relations.  At  the  old  town  of  Soest,  which  he  found 
very  beautiful,  he  was  much  interested  in  the  oldest  church, 
the  Wiesenkirke,  where,  among  some  twenty-four  mostly 
worthless  statues  in  stone  and  wood,  he  found  those  of 
Mary,  of  John,  and  of  a  bishop  on  the  side  entrance,  of 
extraordinary  beauty.  They  went  on  to  Cologne,  visiting 
churches  and  museums,  to  Wiesbaden,  Mainz,  Frankfort, 
etc.,  and  thence  to  Weimar,  where  they  spent  two  days 
with  Goethe,  whose  kindness  and  attention  were  those  of 
a  father.  Rauch  stayed  with  the  prince,  but  most  of  the 
time  was  spent  at  Goethe's  house,  the  evenings  in  the 
society  of  his  choicest  friends,  the  mornings  in  working 
on  a  small  statue  of  Goethe  in  his  dressing-gown.  This 
is  the  well-known  statue  of  which  Reimer  said,  "  It  is  the 
old  master  in  his  gown,  just  as  he  walks  and  stands  ; "  and 
the  same  of  which  Thackeray  spoke,  when  Goethe  re- 
ceived him  in  1830,  "He  held  his  hand  on  his  back  just 
as  Rauch  represented  him."  When  Goethe  was  yet  a 
young  man  he  noted  in  his  diary,  "  I  can  do  nothing 
sitting.  Good  things  always  come  to  me  while  walking." 
This  trait  led  to  his  habit  of  dictation.  This  likeness 
was  for  a  statuette,  not  intended  for  a  public  place,  and 
Rauch  made  no  question  of  the  propriety  of  a  modern 
costume  for  this  purpose. 

In  1837,  after  Thorwaldsen  had  finished  his  statues  of 
Schiller  and  Gutenberg,  the  Frankfort  Union  again  re- 
curred to  the  idea  of  a  sitting  statue  of  Goethe  by  Rauch. 
The  old  disputes  arose  again,  some  wishing  that  the 
statuette  in  the  dressing-gown  should  be  enlarged,  and 
others  going  back  to  the  Von  Arnim  design.  It  is  said 
that  Goethe  himself  liked  none  of  the  plans  but  the 
statuette,  and  he  thought  even  that  too  stout.  Rauch 
had  been  to  Weimar  at  his  pressing  invitation,  to  make 


134  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

some  change  in  it.  Rietschel  was  with  him,  and  worked 
on  the  back  of  the  statue  while  Rauch  worked  on  the 
front,  "  and  the  old  master  stood  between  us,  and  told  us 
charming  stories,  or  showed  us  engravings."  They  stayed 
through  the  noonings  and  evenings  with  Goethe,  who,  like 
a  happy  grandfather,  took  Rauch  repeatedly  to  the  cradle 
of  Alma,  his  youngest  grandchild,  to  see  the  lovely  child 
asleep,  "a  sight  truly  worthy  of  rapture."  This  was 
Rauch's  last  visit  to  Goethe,  and  even  their  correspondence 
was  interrupted  for  a  while,  as  Rauch  was  busy  with  work 
and  travel.  At  last  he  wrote  to  Goethe,  and  received  from 
him  a  letter  full  of  the  warmest  expressions  of  affection, 
and  of  commendation  of  the  young  woman  artist  whom 
he  had  recommended  to  his  care.  He  makes  many  inter- 
esting inquiries  about  art,  and  speaks  of  his  earnest  desire 
for  an  institute  of  plastic  anatomy  at  Berlin.  He  says, 
"  I  find  myself,  almost  for  the  first  time,  a  propagandist. 
I  want  to  see  my  plans  carried  out.  It  appears  to  me  old 
age.  is  impatient  where  youth  is  slow."  This  was  his  last 
letter,  written  only  four  weeks  before  his  death. 

Twelve  years  later  "the  beautiful  child  in  the  cradle" 
came  to  Rauch's  atelier,  "a  darling,  blooming,  beautiful 
maiden."  She  left  for  Vienna.  Eight  weeks  passed,  and 
the  diary  records  the  painful  intelligence  of  the  death  of 
the  beautiful  girl  by  typhus-fever.  So  ended  the  personal 
relations  of  Rauch  with  Goethe  and  his  family.  Of  all 
the  statuesque  designs  by  which  the  sculptor  sought  to 
give  to  posterity  a  worthy  statue  of  Goethe,  none  came 
to  monumental  execution. 

After  the  Frankfort  Union  had  discussed  and  rejected 
many  plans,  the  Goethe  statue  was  finally  erected  by 
Schwanthaler. 

After  Goethe's  death  an  International  Monumental 
Committee  was  formed  to  erect  a  double  monument  to 
Goethe  and  Schiller.  Rauch  went  to  Weimar  to  consider 
the  best  position  in  which  to  place  it.  The  plan  was  not, 


RAUCH    AND    GOETHE  135 

however,  carried  further  for  ten  years,  when  the  then 
Grand  Duke  of  Weimar  commissioned  Rauch  for  the 
model  of  the  two  great  poets.  But  the  old  disputes  about 
costume  arose.  Rauch  was  quite  unwilling  to  represent  ]/ 
the  two  poets  except  in  classic  drapery.  His  model  in 
this  style  may  now  be  seen  in  plaster  in  the  Rauch 
Museum.  It  was  very  highly  praised  ;  but  money  for  the 
execution  flowed  in  but  sparingly,  and  the  whole  matter 
was  delayed  until  the  art-loving  King  of  Bavaria  took 
hold  of  it.  He  desired,  however,  that  the  statue  should 
be  cast  at  his  own  foundery  at  Munich,  and  that  it  should 
be  in  modern  costume.  Rauch  objected  to  both  these 
conditions.  He  was  not  willing  to  have  his  work  taken 
away  from  the  foundery  he  had  taken  so  much  pains  to 
establish,  and  he  could  not  accept  the  modern  costume 
for  a  public  monument.  He  wrote  to  the  king,  regretting 
that  he  could  not  comply  with  his  wishes ;  but  he  said, 
"An  artist's  embodied  ideals  are  a  part  of  his  life." 

Attempts  at  reconciliation  on  these  points  met  with  no 
success,  and  Rauch  definitely  refused  the  commission,  and 
recommended  that  it  should  be  given  to  Rietschel.  He 
took  a  warm  interest  in  this  work  of  his  friend,  and  pre- 
dicted its  well-deserved  success.  This  beautiful  group  of 
Rietschel's,  in  which  the  costume  of  the  day  is  treated 
with  such  refinement  and  poetic  beauty,  and  the  model 
by  Rauch,  now  in  the  museum  at  Berlin,  in  which  the 
classic  drapery  is  modelled  with  great  breadth  and  sim- 
plicity, afford  the  student  an  admirable  comparative  study 
of  the  two  methods  of  representation. 

The  influence  of  Goethe  and  Rauch  was  mutually 
beneficial.  Rauch  was,  indeed,  mainly  the  recipient,  since 
his  artistic  life  began  when  Goethe  was  in  the  perfection 
of  his  powers,  and  he  drank  in  the  teachings  of  Goethe 
as  the  flowers  the  rain.  Goethe's  devotion  to  classic 
culture  gave  inspiration  to  the  young  sculptor's  thought 
and  works.  The  true  relation  of  the  ideal  and  the  real 


136  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

was  with  both  the  great  problem  of  art  ;  and  to  Goethe, 
the  embodiment  of  his  theories  in  plastic  art,  through  the 
hand  of  a  younger  artist,  with  whom  he  was  in  close  and 
affectionate  relations,  was  a  joy  such  as  seldom  comes  to 
old  age ;  and  the  order  and  self-poise  and  thorough  love 
of  perfection  which  distinguished  Rauch,  were  qualities 
which  the  poet  dearly  prized.  Not  crushed  by  his  grief, 
but  animated  by  the  ever-living  thought  of  his  friend, 
Rauch  went  on  his  way  to  carry  out  the  principles  of  art, 
in  which  they  both  so  firmly  believed. 


HISTORIC    MONUMENTS  137 


CHAPTER  VIII 

HISTORIC  MONUMENTS. — POLISH  PRINCES. ALBERT    DURER 

1815-1840 

THE  heroes  of  the  War  of  Freedom  for  Germany  were' 
fortunate  in  having  artists  to  build  their  monuments  who 
were   penetrated   with   the   spirit    of   that  struggle,   and 
capable  of  preserving  for  us  their  personal  characteristics, 
as  well  as  the  general  feeling  of  the  time. 

Rauch  was  well  fitted  to  bear  his  part  in  this  work;  for 
while  he  never  forgot  ideal  truth,  he  had  a  great  respect 
for  historic  accuracy.  We  might  claim  his  statue  of  Queen 
Louise  as  the  beginning  of  this  historic  cycle  ;  for  she  was 
indeed  its  inspiration,  though  she  did  not  live  to  witness 
its  triumph.  It  will  be  impossible  for  me  to  follow  mi- 
nutely the  progress  of  these  great  works  in  which  he  was 
engaged  so  many  years.  The  most  important  ones  in 
relation  to  his  own  development  and  the  progress  of  sculp- 
ture in  Germany,  are  the  statues  of  Billow  and  of  Scharn- 
horst,  the  two  Bliicher  statues  for  Breslau  and  Berlin,  and 
the  genii  for  the  monument  on  the  Kreuzberg,  just  out  of 
the  city  of  Berlin.  The  statues  of  York  and  Gneisenau 
belong  to  a  later  period. 

When  Rauch  designed  the  candelabra  for  La  Vendee, 
he  wished  to  make  a  grand  monument  for  celebrating  the 
war,  having  a  statue  of  the  king,  and  two  immense  cande- 
labra with  allegoric  figures.  The  king  objected  to  that 
plan  ;  but  he  now  conceived  the  idea  of  a  grand  monument 
on  the  hill  overlooking  the  city,  of  which  Schinkel  should 


138  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

make  the  design,  while  Rauch  should  contribute  to  its 
decoration. 

There  was  a  time  when  no  stranger  left  Berlin  without 
visiting  the  monument  on  the  Kreuzberg,  either  from 
motives  of  patriotism,  love  of  art,  or  the  desire  to  enjoy 
the  beautiful  view  from  the  summit  of  the  hill.  But  even 
in  1844  Waagen  complained  "that  this  monument  was 
not  so  much  seen  as  its  subject  and  its  artistic  worth 
deserved."  The  distance  of  the  monument  from  the  city, 
and  the  miserable  sandy  road  that  led  to  it,  combined  with 
the  increasing  number  of  attractive  objects  within  the 
city,  produced  this  neglect.  But  in  our  day,  since  the 
railroad  has  been  extended  to  bring  distant  places  near,, 
the  Kreuzberg  is  again  within  easy  reach  of  Berlin,  and 
the  hill  is  being  made  into  a  public  park.  A  basement 
twenty-six  feet  high  has  also  been  added  to  the  monu- 
ment, which  will  make  it  more  conspicuous  from  afar,  so- 
that  it  may  now  attract  its  due  share  of  public  attention. 

Schinkel's  work  forms  an  obelisk  nineteen  metres  high,. 
on  the  ground-plan  of  an  equal-armed  cross.  In  each 
arm  of  the  cross  are  three  niches,  and  in  each  of  these 
niches  a  statue  of  one  of  the  most  important  battles  of  the 
War  of  Freedom. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  points  in  this  work  was 
the  employment  of  the  allegoric  genius  to  express  the 
spirit  of  the  persons  or  events  to  be  commemorated. 
This  conception  of  the  ancient  world,  which  had  almost 
given  place  to  the  Christian  angel,  had  been  lately  re- 
vived. It  was  variously  represented  ;  sometimes  as  a  figure 
in  a  toga,  with  suggestive  attributes ;  sometimes  as  a 
naked  boy,  with  only  a  pair  of  wings.  Rauch  designed 
for  the  monument  the  "Genius  of  Dennewitz,"  in  the  cos- 
tume of  a  young  soldier,  holding  a  sword  and  laurel 
wreath.  To  indicate  the  most  decisive  victory,  the  head 
of  the  Genius  of  the  Leipzig  battle  is  surrounded  by  a 
starry  crown  ;  he  is  clothed  in  old  Greek  armor,  and  rests. 


HISTORIC    MONUMENTS  139 

the  left  hand  on  a  large  shield,  while  the  right  points  to 
the  three  eagles  representing  the  allies.  In  contrast  to  this 
is  the  "  Genius  of  Wartenburg."  "To  indicate  the  rash 
and  bold  passage  of  the  river,"  this  genius  steps  on  to  a 
boat,  belonging  to  a  bridge,  whilst  he  swings  a  standard 
with  a  Prussian  eagle.  "The  Genius  of  La  Rothiere,"  to 
which  Bliicher's  features  are  given,  is  yet  more  in  action. 
He  is  "in  Northern  armor,  stepping  quickly  forward,  with 
a  laurel  crown  in  the  left  hand,  while  the  right  is  raised 
to  express  his  decided  character,  and  the  victory  of  Prus- 
sian intelligence."  In  his  models  for  the  female  genii  he 
has  indicated  his  own  sympathetic  feelings  by  giving  to 
the  one  (Paris)  the  features  of  the  beloved  Queen  Louise, 
and  to  the  other  (Waterloo)  those  of  the  Empress  Alex- 
andra Feodorowna.  The  king  urged  on  the  completion 
of  the  monument ;  but  it  was  impossible  to  have  all  the 
statues  ready  as  early  as  he  wished,  and  finally  it  was  un- 
veiled on  the  thirty-first  of  March,  1821,  Nicholas  of  Rus- 
sia taking  part  in  the  programme ;  and  the  hall  was 
thereafter  called  the  Kreuzberg. 

As  soon  as  these  modern  statues  were  proposed,  the 
question  of  costume  became  important,  and  Rauch  gave 
much  attention  to  it.  Until  within  a  short  time  the  an- 
tique drapery  had  been  universally  used  as  alone  appro- 
priate to  heroic  subjects,  but  Schadow  had  already  treated 
them  with  bold  naturalism.  Rauch  sought  to  unite  the 
characteristic  costume  of  the  time  with  the  ideal  beauty 
which  his  aesthetically  trained  sense  demanded.  He  sub- 
stituted the  modern  cloak  for  the  ancient  toga,  but  in- 
stead of  trying  to  use  it  in  precisely  the  old  manner,  he 
endeavored  to  give  the  character  of  the  cloak,  and  yet  de- 
velop its  artistic  peculiarities.  This  is  the  true  method 
of  art.  Both  generals  are  represented  in  their  uniforms, 
as  their  contemporaries  saw  them.  Their  cloaks  are 
thrown  about  their  shoulders,  but  neither  in  a  strange, 
theatrical  manner,  nor  in  a  silly,  prosaic  one,  but  with  an 


I4O  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

unconscious,  ideal  fitness,  as  will  happen  to  men  in  some 
exalted  moment  of  their  lives.  The  forms  thus  enveloped 
are  in  accordance  with  the  laws  of  beauty  as  exemplified 
in  Greek  art,  and  the  general  impression  of  heroic  mili- 
tary character  is  united  to  the  personality  of  the  indi- 
vidual warrior.  The  monuments  of  Biilow  and  Scharn- 
horst  gave  ample  field  for  such  considerations.  That  of 
Scharnhorst  represents  the  contemplation  of  an  heroic 
deed  ;  the  general  thoughtfully  leaning  on  an  oaken  staff, 
wrapped  in  his  own  thoughts,  his  left  side  quite  concealed 
by  the  cloak.  Billow's  monument  presents  the  deed  it- 
self ;  he  stands  brave  and  confident,  holding  back  his 
cloak  with  his  right  arm,  his  left  supported  on  his  sword, 
and  gazing  fixedly  at  the  struggle  he  is  directing. 

Rauch  had  very  poor  material  to  work  from,  merely 
death-masks  and  slight  sketches,  and  the  descriptions  of 
those  who  had  seen  the  generals.  The  reliefs  on  the 
monuments,  in  strict  classic  style,  help  to  carry  out  the 
idea.  On  Scharnhorst's  is  the  armed  Minerva,  instruct- 
ing in  the  science  of  war.  On  Billow's  is  the  first  rep- 
resentation of  the  Victory,  in  which  Rauch  afterwards 
achieved  such  brilliant  success  ;  while  the  Prussian  eagle 
on  both  expresses  the  patriotic  cause  to  which  they  were 
devoted.  The  eagle  is  at  rest,  but  his  wings  are  wide- 
spread, as  if  prepared  for  action,  while  the  body,  turned  to 
the  left,  with  the  head  inclined  to  the  right,  indicates  con- 
stant watchfulness.  He  is  also  the  bearer  of  the  tablet, 
on  which  is  simply  inscribed  :  — 

FRIEDRICH    WILHELM    III. 

DEM 

GEN.  VON  SCHARNHORST. 
im  JAHRE,  1822. 

On  Billow's:  — 

FRIEDRICH    WILHELM     III. 
DEM  GEN.  GRAFEN  BULOW, 
VON    DENNEWITZ 
im   JAHRE,  1822. 


HISTORIC    MONUMENTS  14! 

Appropriate  inscriptions  of  the  victories  won  by  the 
general  in  his  conquering  march  through  the  Netherlands 
are  placed  on  the  Scharnhorst  monument.  Rauch  never 
undertook  an  historical  work  without  making  himself  as 
familiar  as  possible  with  all  the  biography  of  his  hero,  and 
the  localities  and  circumstances  of  his  deeds ;  and  he 
studied  even  the  lions  from  life.  The  architectural  part 
of  the  support  was  designed  by  Schinkel. 

Rauch  was  handsomely  paid  for  this  work,  but  he 
enjoyed  much  more  the  recognition  as  an  artist  which  he 
received  from  the  king.  "  Day  before  yesterday,"  he  writes 
to  Frau  von  Humboldt,  July  22,  1822,  "  I  received  at  noon, 
with  a  very  gracious  cabinet  writing  from  the  king,  the 
decoration  of  the  Red  Eagle  Order,  III.  Class.  I  used  to 
know  how  to  deal  with  eagles,  but  this  little  'musje* 
takes  me  aback,  and  makes  me  grow  red  and  hot." 

While  still  engaged  on  the  Bliicher  statue  at  Breslau, 
Rauch  was  commissioned  by  the  king  to  make  a  monu- 
ment to  Bliicher  for  Berlin.  He  began  to  make  sketches 
for  it  in  August,  1819.  His  first  sketch  represented  the 
hero  in  full  action,  his  foot  resting  on  a  howitzer.  His 
costume  is  more  strictly  realistic  than  in  the  Breslau 
statue,  yet  it  is  not  a  historic  incident,  but  a  resumt  of  his 
whole  military  career  that  the  sculptor  gives  us.  Stein 
wished  him  to  exhibit  his  sketches  publicly,  and  let  the 
people  express  their  preference  in  regard  to  them  ;  but 
Rauch  appears  to  have  followed  his  own  thought,  which 
was  of  quiet  determination  of  purpose,  rather  than  action  ; 
and  he  kept  pretty  closely  to  his  first  sketch. 

In  February,  1824,  he  had  completed  a  model  in  plaster, 
and  in  November  the  bronze  casting  was  finished.  One 
of  the  first  persons  to  see  the  completed  statue  after  the 
king  was  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  who  visited  the  atelier 
February  19,  1826.  Rauch  describes  the  visit,  saying,  "  In 
lively,  short,  and  decided  phrases  of  rather  faulty  French, 
the  duke  expressed  his  pleasure,  and  the  king  sent  him  a 


142  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

small  copy  of  the  bronze  statue."  On  the  eighteenth  of 
June  the  statue  was  relieved  from  its  casings,  and  on  the 
anniversary  of  the  battle  of  Waterloo  the  monument  was 
given  to  the  city.  When  Rauch  went  to  see  it  at  five 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  he  found  many  persons  gathered 
about  it.  Among  them  was  Bliicher's  old  comrade,  Gneise- 
nau,  who  wished  Rauch  joy,  with  eyes  full  of  tears  and 
a  trembling  voice,  while  he  recalled  the  old  heroic  times 
with  his  general,  and  the  glorious  deeds  which  now,  mir- 
rored in  bronze,  shone  in  the  light  of  the  morning  sun. 
But  Rauch  was  too  much  preoccupied  to  feel  the  full  mean- 
ing of  the  scene.  The  first  sight  in  the  public  square  of 
the  statue  on  which  he  had  worked  four  years  with  the 
greatest  care  was  a  terrible  shock  to  him.  From  the 
castle-bridge  even  to  the  watch-house  his  first  impression 
was  of  mistrust,  even  terror.  "  Too  long,  too  broad,  was 
my  first  thought ;  the  statue  stiff  and  clumsy."  He 
thought  he  had  gained  nothing  of  the  effect  for  which  he 
had  been  striving  for  years.  And  as  he  continued  his 
walk  to  the  end  of  the  university  building,  and  turned 
back,  he  was  only  partially  calmed  down  by  the  view  on 
that  side.  "  The  first  thing,"  he  says,  "  that  encouraged 
me  to  reconciling  reflections  was  a  comparison  with  the 
Biilow  monument  which,  in  comparison  with  that  of 
Bliicher,  looked  to  me  like  an  over-big  disproportioned 
wooden  chest."  Dr.  Eggers  explains  this  feeling  of  the 
artist  as  a  physiological  effect  of  his  high-wrought  expec- 
tations, and  the  difficulty  of  seeing  as  a  whole  what  he 
had  wrought  upon  so  earnestly  in  parts.  Three  weeks 
later  he  wrote  to  Schinkel,  then  in  London,  "  The  people 
seemed  pleased  with  the  monument,  only  the  sheath  of 
his  sword  is  wanting  ;  and  the  pedestal,  seen  from  afar, 
is  not  broad  enough,  but  it  fills  its  place." 

This  incident  gives  a  valuable  lesson  to  young  artists, 
who  often  feel  bitter  disappointment  when  they  first  look 
upon  the  results  of  long  and  faithful  work.  The  more  in- 


HISTORIC    MONUMENTS  143 

tensely  they  have  labored,  the  more  likely  is  this  reaction 
to  come.  Rauch  was  always  eager  for  improvement,  but 
he  was  by  no  means  a  morbid  detractor  of  his  own  work ; 
yet  he  was  utterly  unfit  to  judge  of  this  statue  at  first  sight. 
Always  appeal  from  an  excited  brain  to  a  calm  one  ! 

Rauch  has  been  censured  for  incongruity  in  making  the 
bass-reliefs  on  the  pedestal,  representing  the  events  of  the 
war,  in  a  realistic  style  not  corresponding  to  the  character 
of  the  statue ;  but  Dr.  Eggers  maintains  that,  at  the  dis- 
tance at  which  the  whole  monument  must  be  seen  to  get 
its  full  architectural  effect,  the  details  are  lost,  and  the 
sculptures  only  enrich  the  general  appearance ;  while  if 
the  spectator  is  near  enough  to  study  the  details  of  the 
bass-reliefs  he  cannot  see  the  proportions  of  the  statue, 
and  therefore  the  one  does  not  interfere  with  the  other. 
These  reliefs  are  extremely  varied  in  character,  and  rep- 
resent many  different  scenes.  One  of  the  original 
sketches  represents  Bliicher  as  triumphing  over  his  ene- 
mies in  the  person  of  Bonaparte  ;  and  Rauch  defends  this 
design  against  the  criticism  of  the  Pole,  Anton  Waga, 
saying,  "  Bliicher  contended  against  Napoleon  rather  than 
the  French  people,  and,  as  Bonaparte  is  now  dethroned 
and  imprisoned  at  St.  Helena,  they  cannot  take  it  unkindly 
that  he  is  thus  represented."  He  says  that  "Anton 
Waga  does  not  seem  to  remember  that  on  the  column  of 
Victory  in  the  Place  Vendome,  a  bass-relief  represents 
Bonaparte,  at  whose  feet  the  Emperor  Francis  kneels 
and  sues  for  peace  (after  the  battle  of  Austerlitz).  Both 
are  likenesses.  This  monument  remained  standing  when 
the  daughter  of  the  emperor  was  the  wife  of  Bonaparte, 
and  while  the  allied  armies  twice  entered  Paris  victorious, 
and  yet  stands  to-day,  though  the  Emperor  Francis  is 
still  ruler  of  Austria."  This  is  one  of  the  few  instances 
where  Rauch  expresses  bitterness  towards  the  French  ; 
he  usually  treats  them  as  fellow-artists,  and  does  full  jus- 
tice to  their  work. 


144  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

The  reliefs  on  the  lower  part  of  the  monument  repre- 
sent scenes  in  the  life  of  the  people  during  the  war,  —  the 
young  volunteers  leaving  their  homes,  and  soldiers  taking 
the  oath  of  fidelity  to  the  flag.  The  men  are  parting  with 
their  friends,  while  a  shepherd  boy  looks  on  with  aston- 
ishment. The  army  goes  on  its  way  watched  by  the  curi- 
ous boys,  and  refreshed  with  water  drawn  by  the  peasant 
maidens  from  the  fountains.  Scenes  of  triumph  and  of 
death  appear.  The  army  goes  into  the  rich  vineyards 
of  France.  Dragoons  are  cooking  their  food,  resting  in 
slumber,  or  chatting  with  the  market-women.  Finally 
the  army  passes  through  the  gate  St.  Martin,  preceded 
by  the  bearers  of  banners,  while  the  hero  of  the  monu- 
ment, Blucher,  with  his  staff  of  officers,  leads  them  on. 
To  meet  them  comes,  rolled  on  cylinders,  by  workmen,  the 
regained  Victory  of  the  Brandenburg,  which  appears  at 
the  end  of  the  row  of  statues,  as  representing  the  object 
of  the  march  to  Paris.  These  reliefs  are  of  the  greatest 
interest,  and  deserve  a  thorough  study,  in  which  Dr. 
Eggers's  book  would  be  an  excellent  guide.  He  closes 
his  account  by  saying,  "  The  historic  epic  of  the  War  of 
Freedom,  from  the  call  of  the  king,  on  the  tenth  of  March, 
1813,  to  the  second  Peace  of  Paris,  which,  after  the  re- 
peated entry  of  the  allies  into  the  Enemy's  capital  at  the 
end  of  the  year  1815,  restored  the  treasures  of  art,  is 
sung  by  Rauch  in  a  plastic  hymn  of  victory." 

A  tone  of  humor  runs  through  these  representations, 
and  Rauch  has  introduced  portraits  of  well-known  men 
whose  influence  was  felt  in  this  popular  war.  Theodor 
Korner  and  Wilhelm  von  Humboldt  are  easily  recognized. 
A  cast  of  one  of  the  most  stirring  of  these  scenes,  "  The 
Bivouac,"  was  sent  as  a  present  to  Goethe.  Dr.  Eggers 
says  "that  the  frieze  of  the  Blucher  monument,  with  its 
admirable  treatment  in  relief  of  modern  stuffs,  was  a 
new  achievement  of  plastic  art.  The  casting  of  the 
whole  pedestal  was  also  a  novelty  in  the  history  of  the 


HISTORIC    MONUMENTS  145 

art  of  our  times,  which,  until  then,  was  accustomed  to 
place  the  bronze  statue  on  a  stone  basis." 

Rauch's  pecuniary  reward  was  a  thousand  Friedrichs 
d'or.  The  cost  of  the  monument  was  forty-eight  thou- 
sand six  hundred  and  eighty-four  thalers. 

Other  portrait  statues  of  importance  now  occupied 
Rauch's  attention.  January  25,  1826,  he  received  a  com- 
mission, by  a  royal  cabinet  order,  for  a  statue  of  King 
Frederic  William  I.  for  the  city  of  Gumbinnen,  founded 
by  him.  The  costume  was  to  be  the  military  uniform. 
The  citizens  had  asked  this  favor  of  the  king  on  the  cen- 
tennial celebration  of  the  founding  of  the  city. 

The  king  had  a  special  regard  for  his  predecessor, 
Frederic  William  I.,  with  whose  ideas  of  statesmanship 
and  economy,  as  well  as  of  religious  toleration,  he  had 
much  sympathy.  The  work  of  the  statue  was  much 
delayed  by  political  and  other  causes,  and  it  was  not 
unveiled  until  1835.  It  stands  in  the  marketplace  at 
Gumbinnen.  The  statuesque  representation  of  the  king 
is  excellent.  He  stands  in  an  erect  attitude,  correspond- 
ing to  his  strong  character,  but  with  an  earnest,  benevo- 
lent expression  on  his  face.  He  is  the  first  of  the  princes 
of  Europe  represented  in  a  simple  soldier's  cloak, — the 
military  costume  of  his  time. 

Indeed,  the  whole  of  this  series  of  monuments  to  the 
heroes  of  Germany  marks  the  development  of  popular 
ideas.  Up  to  this  time  it  was  a  maxim  that  public  monu- 
ments were  erected  only  by  princes  ;  the  people  had 
played  a  passive  role.  They  were  the  governed  classes. 
The  seed  of  national  feeling  had  been  sown  by  the  War 
of  Freedom  ;  yet  it  was  not  all  Germany,  even  all  Prus- 
sia, which  united  to  erect  a  monument  to  the  popular 
warrior.  Mecklenburg  was  the  first  to  place  a  monument 
in  Blucher's  birthplace,  Rostock,  and  then  the  Silesians 
followed.  He  was  theirs,  because  he  had  set  forth  from 
Breslau  with  a  conquering  army  of  Silesians,  who  first 


146  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

gave  the  cutting  sharpness  to  the  sword  of  "Marshal 
Forwards."  Dem  "  FeldJierrn  BlucJier  und  dem  Hcrre  die 
Sc/ilesien"  was  the  inscription,  and  the  cost  of  its  erec- 
tion was  furnished  by  this  province. 

I  am  inclined  to  doubt  whether  Rauch  found  full  satis- 
faction even  in  this  noble  historic  work.  He  loved  not 
only  beauty,  but  quiet  grace  and  sentiment,  and  was  always 
striving  after  an  ideal  which  was  not  represented  by  the 
captains  even  of  a  righteous  war.  Dr.  Eggers  says, 
"Rauch's  power  did  not  lie  in  violent  movement  approach- 
ing the  dramatic,  but  rather  in  quiet  greatness  and  unity, 
resembling  architecture  more  than  painting." 

One  of  the  most  interesting  and  beautiful  of  Rauch's 
historic  groups,  which  happily  combines  the  ideal  and  the 
realistic  in  its  treatment,  is  the  monument  to  the  two  old 
kings  of  Poland  at  Posen,  and  its  progress  is  strongly 
related  to  the  modern  movements  in  Polish  history.  The 
story  of  this  monument  dates  back  to  the  year  1816.  In 
consequence  of  the  arrangements  of  the  Congress  of 
Vienna,  the  Emperor  Alexander  gave  a  constitution  to 
the  so-called  kingdom  of  Poland,  which  first  came  into 
effect  in  the  year  1818  by  the  calling  of  a  Polish  parlia- 
ment. The  aristocracy  and  clergy  of  Poland  appear  to 
have  been  impressed  with  the  desire  to  represent  their 
political  position  by  an  outward  sign,  and  also  to  indicate 
the  union  of  all  the  separate  parts  of  Poland.  The  fittest 
means  for  this  end  appeared  to  be  the  erection  of  a  monu- 
ment to  the  Polish  princes,  Mieczyslaw  and  Boleslaw. 

Duke  Mieczyslaw  of  Poland,  who  was  obliged  by  force 
of  arms  to  hold  his  land  as  &fief  from  the  German  Em- 
peror, Otto  I.,  went  over  to  Christianity,  and  towards  the 
end  of  the  tenth  century  established  the  first  bishopric 
in  Posen.  His  son,  Boleslaw  the  Great,  redeemed  the  land 
from  its  dependence  on  the  German  emperor,  increased 
it  by  conquests  in  all  directions,  and  allowed  himself 
to  be  crowned  by  the  Pope  in  1024.  No  better  repre- 


HISTORIC    MONUMENTS  147 

sentatives,  therefore,  could  be  found  to  express  the  wish 
of  the  aristocracy  and  clergy  for  national  unity  and  inde- 
pendence. .After  Boleslaw's  death  a  sarcophagus  was 
erected  in  the  cathedral  at  Posen  as  a  common  monument 
to  the  two  princes.  This  sarcophagus  was  entirely  de- 
stroyed by  fire  and  the  overthrow  of  the  tower,  and  in  the 
year  1814  the  bishop  of  Gorzenski  proposed  the  restoration 
of  the  monument,  offering  to  give  the  tenth  part  of  his 
income  for  the  purpose.  As  this  was  insufficient,  how- 
ever, a  general  call  was  made  upon  Poles  for  the  erection 
of  a  national  monument.  In  1818,  when  in  Carrara, 
Ranch  received  a  letter  from  the  Abbot  Wolicki,  asking 
him  to  prepare  designs  for  a  monument  to  the  two  kings. 
He  refers  again  to  the  subject  in  1819,  but  in  1820  the 
political  difficulties  in  Poland  seemed  to  render  the  prose- 
cution of  the  plan  unadvisable. 

But  the  patriotic  excitement,  which  found  violent  expres- 
sion in  the  bloody  revolution  of  1830,  again  offered  oppor- 
tunity for  an  appeal  to  popular  feeling  ;  and  in  November, 
1828,  when  Rauch  dined  with  Wolicki  in  Berlin,  he  records 
in  his  diary,  "  First  agreement  for  the  monument  in  Posen." 
Schinkel  was  to  be  joined  with  Rauch  in  the  preparation 
of  an  architectural  design,  which  was  to  be  on  a  very 
grand  scale.  But  the  cost  of  this  plan  was  so  large  that 
it  was  difficult  to  raise  sufficient  money  for  it,  and  it  was 
proposed  to  narrow  the  design  to  a  statue  to  be  placed  in 
one  of  the  chapels  of  the  Metropolitan  Church.  Before 
the  year  was  out,  Wolicki,  the  zealous  promoter  of  the 
scheme,  died,  and  Prince  Radziwill  took  it  up.  In  order 
to  carry  out  Wolicki's  plan,  a  committee  was  formed  ;  but, 
as  Rauch  had  asked  too  high  a  price,  they  wished  to  in- 
trust the  carrying  out  of  the  designs  to  Herr  Tatarkiewicz, 
under  the  direction  of  Thorwaldsen,  as  they  hoped,  as 
their  countryman,  he  would  be  more  saving  of  money. 
But  before  a  decision  was  reached  new  difficulties  arose. 
The  insurrection  in  Russian  Poland  absorbed  the  interest 


148  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

of  everybody,  and  in  the  year  1833  Prince  Radziwill  died, 
before  he  had  put  matters  in  train  for  the  monument.  In 
the  summer  of  1833  the  papers  and  money  already  col- 
lected were  passed  into  the  hands  of  Count  Eduard 
Raczynski,  rightly  considered  one  of  the  best  friends  of 
the  fatherland. 

As  Count  Raczynski  made  up  his  mind  that  the  re- 
establishment  of  Poland  was  not  to  be  expected  from 
Napoleon  I.,  he  endeavored  to  arouse  the  national  feeling 
through  literature,  by  the  publication  of  a  series  of  old 
historic  works.  He  resumed  the  purpose  of  securing  a 
monument  by  Rauch,  and  assisted  him  by  furnishing  him 
with  many  historic  details. 

With  the  help  of  Wolff  and  Blaser,  Rauch  prepared  the 
help-model,  and  in  1837  the  great  clay  model  begun  by 
them  was  finished  by  himself.  He  writes  to  Rietschel 
that  he  finds  great  difficulties  in  arranging  the  group  to 
his  satisfaction,  and  wishes  for  his  help,  for  he  cannot 
seek  that  of  others,  as  he  does  not  wish  to  show  the  model 
to  anybody  sooner  than  to  the  prince,  who  has  the  best 
right  to  see  it  first.  Rauch  was  not  at  first  interested  in 
his  subject,  for  he  was  not  much  attracted  to  the  romantic 
side  of  the  Middle  Ages.  Schinkel,  on  the  contrary,  de- 
lighted in  them,  and  it  is  thought  that  his  hand  is  percep- 
tible in  the  sketches  made  by  Rauch  for  this  group.  But 
when  Rauch  received  genuine  portraits  of  Poles  and  other 
rich  historic  material  from  Raczynski,  he  began  to  feel  him- 
self on  firm  ground,  and  he  made  many  changes  in  his  de- 
sign. The  two  princes  no  longer  both  look  to  the  symbolic 
cross,  but  one  of  them  shows  the  cross  which  he  has  planted, 
to  the  other,  who  is  the  people's  representative.  A  crown 
is  placed  on  Boleslaw's  head,  instead  of  the  laurel  wreath. 

Rauch  felt  very  much  chagrined  that  he  did  not  have 
the  full  control  of  the  casting;  but  in  the  end  all  difficulties 
were  reconciled,  and  he  was  very  much  pleased  with  the 
manner  in  which  the  work  was  done.  In  November,  1839, 


HISTORIC    MONUMENTS 


149 


he  met  Rietschel  at  Lauchhammer  (where  the  casting  had 
been  made).  The  group  was  almost  ready,  and  now  they 
made  trials  of  putting  jewels  as  ornaments  of  the  cover- 
ings of  the  heads,  the  girdles,  the  sword  and  its  trappings. 
Thus  gilded  and  richly  ornamented,  the  group  became  the 
shining  feature  in  the  Berlin  Exhibition  in  1840,  and  in 
February  the  placing  in  the  cathedral  at  Posen  was 
accomplished.  In  a  richly  ornamented  and  beautiful 
chapel  stands  this  noble  group,  which  is  full  of  majesty 
and  grace.  The  noble  couple,  father  and  son,  represent 
the  highest  sentiments  of  devotion  and  patriotism  ;  the 
action  is  simple  and  manly,  and  the  costume  is  rich  and 
flowing.  I  cannot  give  a  better  idea  of  its  merit  than  by 
quoting  the  words  of  the  celebrated  critic,  Franz  Kugler. 
"All  these  elements,"  he  says,  "of  historic  truth,  of  char- 
acter, of  truth  to  nature,  move  in  an  element  of  pure, 
plastic  beauty.  In  every  separate  form,  as  well  as  in  their 
union  as  a  whole,  there  rules  a  proportion,  a  clearness,  a 
harmony  of  lines  and  proportions,  a  thorough  conformity 
to  law,  with  great  freedom  in  details,  —  in  a  word,  a  per- 
fection of  style  which  can  be  found  only  when  art  is 
'raised  to  its  highest  point.'  " 

Successful  as  this  monument  was,  from  an  aesthetic 
point  of  view,  the  story  of  its  financial  affairs  closes  very 
sadly.  The  money  collected  from  more  than  fifteen  hun- 
dred donors  was  used  up  in  arranging  the  luxurious 
chapel ;  and  Count  Raczynski  himself  paid  for  the  statues. 
The  statues  were  inscribed  to  the  count  as  his  gift.  An 
evil-disposed  member  of  the  Landtag  brought  up  the 
charge  that  the  count  had  claimed  an  honor  not  due  to 
him,  as  the  statues  were  a  component  part  of  the  whole 
monument.  The  Landtag,  when  appealed  to,  declared 
itself  incompetent  to  judge  the  case.  This  was  a  hard 
blow  to  the  sensitive  nobleman,  as  he  could  not  endure  that 
any  of  his  countrymen  should  accuse  him  of  appropriating 
to  trmself  praise  which  was  due  to  others.  He  appealed 


I5O  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

to  the  king  to  grant  the  competency  of  the  Landtag  to 
decide  in  the  case.  This  being  granted,  he  collected  the 
original  papers  to  present  to  the  Landtag,  to  show  the 
way  in  which  the  business  of  the  monument  had  been 
conducted.  But  the  sting  of  this  charge  had  penetrated 
his  soul.  He  had  the  inscription  taken  from  the  statues, 
then  went  home  and  shot  himself.  His  son  had  the 
mournful  duty  of  vindicating  his  father  before  the  Land- 
tag of  1845.  It  was  partly  accomplished;  but  the  in- 
scription was  so  framed  as  to  indicate  that  the  funds 
"raised  for  the  monument  by  Wolicki,  were  largely 
increased  by  Raczynski."  The  widow  of  the  count  pre- 
sented the  proofs  of  the  transaction  to  the  Landtag,  and 
asked  for  the  restoration  of  the  inscription,  but  in  vain. 
"So,"  says  Dr.  Eggers,  "the  monument  of  the  Polish 
princes  has  also  become  a  monument  of  that  partisan 
spirit  which  has  had  such  an  injurious  influence  in  Polish 
history." 

The  original  models  in  plaster  we're  brought  from 
Lauchhammer  to  Berlin  in  1847,  and  are  now  in  the 
Rauch  Museum. 

The  venerable  aspect  of  the  father,  and  the  vigorous, 
manly  bearing  of  the  son,  are  finely  contrasted.  No 
limitations  of  costume  prevent  the  full,  picturesque  effect 
of  the  figures  ;  the  full,  flowing  mantle  of  the  one,  and 
the  rich  armor  of  the  other,  lend  grace  and  dignity  to 
the  erect  yet  easy  attitude,  while  the  noble  features  are 
rather  brought  out  than  concealed  by  the  regal  covering 
of  the  heads.  The  cross  in  the  hand  of  the  father,  and 
the  sword  in  that  of  the  son,  are  full  of  historic  signifi- 
cance. The  mediaeval  character  of  the  group  makes  it 
more  romantically  attractive  than  the  monuments  of  our 
own  times. 

A  noble  transition  from  the  warlike  portraits  to  ideal 
work  is  afforded  by  the  statue  of  Albert  Diirer.  The 
approach  of  the  three  hundredth  anniversary  of  Diirer's 


HISTORIC    MONUMENTS  15! 

death  aroused  a  strong  desire  among  his  countrymen  to 
erect  a  fitting  monument  to  him.  A  plan  was  formed  by 
engravers  and  artists  for  a  collection  of  German  works  of 
art.  But  King  Ludwig  was  not  satisfied  with  this,  and  de- 
clared that  the  greatest  of  German  sculptors,  Rauch,  must 
design  a  statue  of  the  greatest  of  German  artists,  to  be 
cast  in  the  only  great  bronze  foundery  in  South  Germany, 
at  Munich.  Rauch  took  the  commission,  August,  1825, 
and  proposed  a  statue  of  Diirer  based  on  the  likeness  he 
has  given  of  himself.  He  inquired  into  the  place  de- 
signed for  it,  saying  "  A  small  square  is  preferable  ;  and 
the  statue  ought  to  stand,  not  in  the  middle,  but  in  a  good 
position  at  the  side,  as  we  see  in  the  historical  works  of 
the  olden  time  ;  not  after  the  tedious  Northern  fashion,  at 
the  end  of  a  long  perspective,  where  the  monument  looks 
like  a  target,  or  a  salt-cellar  planted  in  the  middle  of  the 
table." 

But  the  Nurembergers  protested  loudly  at  the  casting 
of  the  statues  at  Munich.  They  thought  it  could  be 
equally  well  done  at  Nuremberg,  and  that  was  the  fitting 
place  for  the  work.  Rauch  went  to  the  foundery  to  ex- 
amine the  quality  of  the  casting,  and  he  had  a  bronzed 
and  painted  model  of  the  monument  of  full  size  made  in 
wood,  which  was  erected  in  the  marketplace,  that  all 
might  judge  of  the  proposed  site  of  the  statue.  Although 
this  place  was  found  satisfactory,  another  trial  was  made 
at  the  Burgfreiung,  where  it  would  stand  finely  against  a 
clear  horizon ;  but  the  general  preference  was  for  the 
neighborhood  of  Diirer's  dwelling. 

Rauch  gave  some  time  to  the  churches  and  monuments 
of  Nuremberg,  and  was  greatly  feted  by  its  inhabitants, 
who  took  leave  of  him  with  the  words,  "You  will  live 
here  to  all  time  united  with  Diirer."  He  delighted  the 
citizens  by  obtaining  the  king's  consent  to  have  the  statue 
cast  at  Nuremberg,  if  he  was  satisfied  with  the  work. 
Rauch  was  unable  to  be  present  at  the  great  festival  of 


I  $2  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

the  laying  of  the  corner-stone.  He  applied  himself  dili- 
gently to  this  work,  and  in  ten  days  after  the  festival  the 
whole  monument  stood  before  him  in  a  bronzed  cast.  He 
wrote  in  his  diary,  "  It  seems  to  me  that  I  have  never 
projected  anything  better."  The  interest  was  not  con- 
fined to  Nuremberg  ;  all  Germany  wished  to  take  part  in 
the  honor  to  the  great  artist  ;  and  contributions  flowed  in 
from  artists  and  art-societies,  so  that  in  November  twelve 
thousand  gulden  of  free-will  offerings  were  counted. 

A  great  festival  was  held  in  Berlin  on  the  three  hun- 
dredth anniversary  of  Diirer's  death,  at  which  this  model 
was  shown ;  and  among  many  other  tributes  offered  was 
a  symphony  of  Mendelssohn's.  Rauch  could  not  have 
had  a  finer  subject  for  his  art.  The  personal  beauty  of 
Diirer,  his  noble  bearing  and  character,  the  deep  universal 
feeling  of  the  people,  and  the  position  of  the  statue  in  his 
native  place,  were  all  powerful  'stimulants  to  the  artist's 
imagination.  Rauch  was  named  an  honorary  member  of 
the  Union  of  Artists  of  Nuremberg.  He  already  planned 
to  improve  upon  his  sketches,  not  foreseeing  that  this 
constant  effort  for  improvement  would  be  made  a  handle 
of,  in  trying  to  take  the  monument  entirely  out  of  his 
hands.  He  was  led  by  the  difficulties  he  encountered  in 
procuring  good  work  to  investigate  the  whole  subject  of 
bronze  casting ;  and  Dr.  Eggers  gives  a  very  interesting 
account  of  the  history  and  development  of  this  important 
art-industry  ;  but  my  limits  will  prevent  my  entering  upon 
this  discussion,  except  in  so  far  as  it  directly  affects 
Ranch's  work. 

The  new  method  of  casting  introduced  by  the  French,  by 
which  the  original  model  was  not  destroyed,  interested 
Rauch  extremely,  and  he  took  pains  to  establish  a  foundery 
and  school  in  'Berlin.  He  tried  to  bring  a  celebrated 
founder,  Hopfgarten,  with  whom  he  had  formerly  worked, 
from  Rome  ;  but  Hopfgarten  was  not  inclined  to  adopt 
the  new  method.  Leguire  was  invited  by  the  king  to  take 


HISTORIC    MONUMENTS  153 

charge  of  the  school  and  the  casting  of  the  BlUcher 
statue.  The  school  was  not,  however,  wholly  successful, 
and  in  three  years  only  one  founder  was  fully  trained. 
Hopfgarten  finally  came  to  Berlin,  and  used  the  new 
method.  After  many  difficulties,  such  as  beset  all  indus- 
trial schools  where  the  attempt  is  made  to  combine  in- 
struction and  practical  work,  the  school  languished,  and 
was  closed  in  1832.  Rauch  did  not  lose  his  interest  in 
the  subject,  however  ;  and  he  continued  his  efforts  for 
improvement  in  the  instruction  of  pupils,  and  in  the  style 
of  work.  The  technical  question  was  finally  decided  in 
favor  of  the  French  method,  not  only  for  Berlin,  but  for  all 
Germany,  for  which  the  Berlin  foundery  served  as  the 
mother-school.  At  the  same  time  King  Ludwig  of  Bavaria 
was  doing  his  utmost  to  establish  the  foundery  at  Munich  ; 
and  he  wished  to  cast  Rauch's  statue  there.  Rauch 
formed  an  intimate  friendship  with  the  master  of  the 
foundery,  Stiglmaier,  which  was  kept  up  by  a  happy  inter- 
change of  gifts  and  correspondence  for  many  years. 
Stiglmaier  hopes  soon  to  rival  the  French  founders,  as 
"  they  have  no  secret  but  practice."  Soon  came  the  prac- 
tical question,  Where  should  the  statue  of  Diirer  be  cast  ? 
As  the  expense  would  be  much  less,  Nuremberg  was 
chosen  ;  and  Burgschmiedt,  the  teacher  of  the  polytechnic 
school,  agreed,  with  the  help  of  his  scholars,  to  perform 
the  work  in  eighteen  months ;  but  Rauch  made  the  con- 
dition that  a  trial  statue  should  show  that  the  work  could 
be  done  to  his  satisfaction. 

Nothing  now  seemed  to  stand  in  the  way  of  the  execu- 
tion of  the  statue ;  but  many  difficulties  arose  about  the 
pedestal,  and  the  cost  of  different  materials.  It  was  pro- 
posed to  give  up  the  bass-reliefs,  and  have  a  very  simple 
pedestal.  Rauch  consented  to  lessen  his  own  price,  "  in 
order  that  an  essential  hindrance  be  set  aside,  and  that 
such  a  praiseworthy,  unique  monument  in  our  fatherland 
may  be  perfected."  This  description  expressed  the  truth, 


154  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

for  this  monument  really  forms  a  landmark  in  German 
art,  giving  to  the  heroes  of  art  and  science  the  public,  full- 
sized  statue  formerly  appropriated  only  to  crowned  heads 
and  heroes  of  the  sword. 

A  curious  effort  was  made  to  supersede  Rauch  in  this 
work.  His  enemies  even  went  so  far  as  to  employ  Hei- 
deloff  to  make  sketches  for  a  different  representation  of 
Diirer.  The  various  sketches  were  sent  to  the  king,  who 
must  decide  upon  them.  One  is  described  as  "the  for- 
ward-striding hero  and  artist-prince,"  while  the  new  one 
expressed  "  the  master  turned  back  to  his  own  thoughts,, 
without  pretension,  and  scarcely  conscious  of  his  own 
greatness."  Such  was  not  Albert  Diirer,  who,  while 
truly  modest,  had  a  just  estimate  of  his  own  powers  and 
success.  I  do  not  know  whether  his  biographer,  Tausing, 
had  this  controversy  in  his  mind  when  he  wrote  his. 
splendid  paragraph  on  the  portraits  of  Diirer,  but  it  is. 
singularly  appropriate  to  it.  He  says,  "The  lofty  self- 
consciousness  which  all  these  portraits  breathe,  the  joy  in 
his  own  splendid  personality,  might  be  taken  in  a  wrong 
sense  in  any  other  than  Diirer.  He  is  in  that  wholly  the 
child  of  his  time,"  The  decision  of  the  king  was  delayed 
for  half  a  year,  and  then  was  in  Ranch's  favor.  He 
should  make  the  standing  figure  ten  feet  high,  and  of  the 
new  designs  by  Heideloff  for  the  pedestal,  the  first  and 
simplest  shall  be  carried  out  in  Eberweiser  bell-metal, 
thirteen  feet  high,  on  four  steps.  Yet  so  sharp  was  the 
opposition  that  it  was  yet  another  half-year  before  Rauch 
received  the  definite  commission.  At  this  time  he  was 
receiving  very  important  commissions  from  King  Louis 
to  finish  the  Max  Joseph  monument,  and  to  make  the  six 
Victories  for  the  Walhalla  ;  and  this  may  have  led  his 
rivals  to  hope  that  he  would  himself  give  up  the  Diirer 
work,  which  had  proved  so  annoying. 

But  he  took  the  commission,  and  only  considered  that 
this  accumulation  of  work  freed  him  from  the  obligation 


HISTORIC    MONUMENTS  155 

- 

to  have  the  Diirer  statue  finished  at  any  definite  time. 
Even  to  his  immense  power  of  work,  unequalled  by  that 
of  any  sculptor  of  his  time,  it  was  impossible  to  touch 
the  model  till  the  next  year,  1834.  The  king,  becoming 
impatient,  required  the  magistrates  to  announce  when  the 
statue  would  be  ready.  Rauch  set  the  time  on  his  side 
for  the  first  of  May,  1836.  He  made  this  decision  just 
before  his  summer  journey  to  Munich  for  the  unveiling  of 
the  Max  Joseph  monument,  and  hoped  that  by  personal 
intercourse  with  the  king  the  newly  arisen  difficulties 
might  be  smoothed  away. 

He  had  copies  made  of  the  Diirer  portrait,  with  the  tab- 
let out  of  the  "  Allerheiligenbilde,"  and  of  Diirer  with 
Pirkheimer,  from  the  picture  of  the  "  Martyrdom  of  the 
Ten  Thousand."  The  engraving  of  the  former  had 
served  him  for  his  first  sketch  of  the  statue. 

Prince  Metternich  and  other  grandees  invited  him  to 
dinner,  but  he  did  not  much  enjoy  the  princely  feast. 
He  says  in  his  diary  of  the  eighteenth  of  July,  "  At  mid- 
day at  dinner  in  Hietzing,  near  Schonbrunn,  with  the 
chancellor,  Fiirst  von  Metternich.  Fiirst  Wenzel  Licht- 
enstein  and  many  diplomatic  persons. were  at  this  princely 
table,  but  the  entertainment  was  not  very  agreeable,  and 
I  never  suffered  from  greater  tediousness."  On  his 
return  to  Berlin  he  received  copies  of  the  Diirer  picture 
from  Vienna,  etched  with  miniature-like  delicacy  by  Albert 
Theer,  who  had  acquired  fame  in  this  kind  of  work. 
The  king  claimed  his  promise  to  have  the  statue  by  the 
first  of  May,  and  Rauch  put  his  hand  to  it  in  February, 
and  appealed  to  Rietschel  to  let  him  have  young  Melz  to 
help  him,  but  Rietschel  could  not  spare  him.  Rauch 
went  to  work  with  insufficient  help,  and  before  the  first 
alarm-shot  reached  him  from  Nuremberg,  he  had  written  to 
Rietschel  that  he  was  working  busily  on  the  life-size  model 
of  Diirer,  making  some  changes,  such  as  the  right  hand 
resting  with  the  style  on  the  left,  which  he  hopes  will  be 


156  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

advantageous."  It  was  not  unknown  to  him  that  his 
opponents  held  fast  to  the  Burgschmiedt  design,  but  he 
based  this  change  on  the  authority  of  the  portrait  in  the 
"Martyrdom  of  the  Ten  Thousand."  He  supported  him- 
self on  this  ground  when,  a  few  days  later,  the  demand 
came  from  the  Nuremberg  magistrates  to  know  whether  he 
had  finished  the  model  according  to  his  promise.  He  had 
to  answer  "No  ;  "  but  he  excuses  himself  on  the  ground  of 
the  great  amount  of  work  claimed  by  the  king,  and  the 
changes  he  had  made,  and  promises  to  finish  it  during 
the  summer.  The  Nurembergers  were  furious,  and  wrote 
to  the  king  that  Rauch  did  not  take  any  interest  in  the 
monument,  and  that  he  was  only  fitted  for  warlike  statues, 
and  could  not  succeed  in  other  subjects.  They  prayed 
the  king  to  give  the  work  to  the  greatest  of  European 
sculptors  ;  viz.,  Thorwaldsen. 

He  would  unquestionably  take  a  great  interest  in  Diirer  ; 
and  as  he  had  generously  made  the  busts  of  Gutenberg 
and  Schiller  for  nothing,  he  probably  would  not  charge  so 
much  for  this  as  Rauch  had  done.  A  strong  minority 
sided  with  Rauch  ;  but  a  majority,  five  of  whom  were 
members  of  the  art-union,  were  so  carried  away  by  pas- 
sion as  to  send  to  the  king  a  proposal,  which  Dr.  Eggers 
characterizes  as  "  alike  wanting  in  artistic  sense,  truth, 
reason,  temper,  and  logic." 

Without  making  reply  to  them,  Rauch  appealed  directly 
to  the  king.  I  give  in  full  his  temperate  but  manly  and 
respectful  letter,  — 

"  Your  Majesty's  grace  and  favor  make  me  bold  enough  to  appeal  to 
your  Excellency's  protection  and  indulgence.  Your  Excellency  was  pleased 
to  command  that  I  should  be  commissioned  to  make  a  model  for  the  statue 
of  Albert  Diirer  for  the  city  of  Nuremberg.  The  words  which  your  Majesty 
spoke  at  the  same  time,  that  I  was  the  best  of  the  now  living  sculptors  of 
Germany,  how  much  soever  I  may  be  convinced  that  these  words  are  rather 
a  proof  of  your  Majesty's  disposition  than  my  services,  yet  laid  upon  me  a 
double  obligation  to  put  forth  all  my  strength,  in  order  to  produce  some- 
thing worthy  in  the  model  under  consideration.  I  have,  therefore,  since  the 


HISTORIC    MONUMENTS  157 

completion  of  the  monument  of  his  late  Majesty  Max  Joseph,  busied  myself 
particularly  with  this  work,  and  I  hoped  to  finish  it  in  the  month  of  May  of 
this  year.  But  I  have  found  greater  difficulties  than  I  expected,  and  my 
achievement  has  not  kept  pace  with  my  wishes ;  so  that,  with  my  former 
experience,  I  can  scarcely  calculate  to  have  the  model  in  clay  finished  in 
six  months. 

"  During  this  time  I  have  received  a  letter  from  Nuremberg,  in  which  it 
is  pointed  out  that  your  Majesty  has  been  pleased  to  command  that  the 
monument  of  Albert  Diirer  should  be  erected  in  the  year  1837,  and  that  it  is 
therefore  necessary  that  the  model  should  be  in  Munich  during  the  next 
month,  August,  in  order  that  the  bronze  casting  may  be  begun,  or  the  whole 
work  will  be  considered  as  given  up,  so  far  as  regards  my  connection 
with  it. 

"  Only  your  Majesty's  lofty  protection  can  turn  away  this  mortification 
and  injury  from  me,  for  it  appears  that  your  Majesty's  commands  and 
expressions  offer  the  pretexts  on  which  to  break  with  me.  Even  if  the 
model  in  clay  were  finished,  these  few  weeks  would  not  suffice  to  make  the 
cast  in  plaster,  and  dry  it  so  as  to  be  fit  for  sending. 

"  On  this  account,  I  therefore  respectfully  venture  to  beg  that  your 
Excellency  yourself  may  please  to  give  command  that  proper  time  be  allowed 
me  for  finishing  the  monument,  since  the  delay  of  a  few  months  cannot  be 
considered,  if  the  artistic  worth  of  a  work  which  should  last  for  centuries 
should  suffer  from  over  haste.  Besides  which,  the  erection  of  the  monument 
could  only  take  place  much  later,  if,  as  appears,  it  is  desired  to  have  the 
model  made  in  Nuremberg  by  another  sculptor,  who  must  now  begin  anew, 
and  certainly  must  finish  it  much  later  than  I  can  mine,  on  which  so  much 
work  has  been  already  done. 

"  In  hope  of  a  gracious  answer  to  my  most  respectful  prayer,  etc." 

The  king  extended  the  time  to  December,  intimating 
that  any  further  delay  would  be  considered  as  putting  an 
end  to  the  contract.  Rauch  refused  an  invitation  to  the 
Strelitzer  Court,  on  account  of  this  pressure,  which  an- 
noyed him  very  much.  The  matter  became  publicly 
known,  and  caused  much  excitement,  with  a  good  deal  of 
heat  on  both  sides.  Rauch  refused  an  invitation  to  visit 
Rietschel  at  Dresden  because  "  Ludwig  had  demanded 
the  completion  of  the  statue  in  a  very  short  time,  making 
no  allowance  for  unexpected  hindrances."  These  soon 
came.  His  trusty  helper  Wolff  was  sick,  and  a  new,  inex- 
perienced workman  must  begin  the  drapery  of  the  great 
statue.  Fifty-five  hundredweight  of  clay  was  needed,  and 


158  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

this  great  weight  caused  a  shrinking  of  the  model,  and 
changed  the  action  of  the  legs.  This  caused  Rauch  much 
embarrassment ;  but  finally,  November  12,  the  clay  model 
was  finished,  and  the  manikin  could  be  relieved  from  the 
thick  gray  woollen  stuff  which  represented  the  fur  mantle 
of  the  statue.  With  characteristic  economy  this  cloth 
was  made  over  into  winter  cloaks  for  the  grandchildren. 
For  long  years  it  served  under  the  name  of  the  Diarer 
cloak.  What  the  little  ones  had  often  looked  at  with  rev- 
erence, as  the  dress  of  the  high  man  which  they  saw  the 
grandfather  make  in  his  workshop,  now  proudly  clothed 
their  own  little  bodies. 

The  clay  model  was  publicly  exhibited  a  few  days,  with 
a  free-will  entrance-fee  for  the  benefit  of  a  school  of 
industry  for  poor  children,  and  over  two  hundred  gulden 
.were  received.  The  applause  was  as  loud  as  universal. 
The  model  was  then  given  to  the  cast-maker.  Meanwhile, 
the  king  urged  Rauch  to  name  a  definite  time  for  the 
delivery  of  the  statue.  This  question  came  very  oppor- 
tunely, for  Rauch  could  now  complain  of  the  injurious 
conditions  of  a  fixed  term  of  delivery  on  the  part  of 
the  Nuremberg  magistrates.  The  drying  of  a  plaster 
cast  ten  feet  high,  at  this  time  of  the  year,  even  if 
hurried,  could  not  be  accomplished  at  a  given  day  and 
hour,  and  sending  it  too  early  might  destroy  it.  There- 
fore, he  begged  the  king  to  command  the  Nuremberg 
magistrates  to  delay  the  delivery,  that  the  model  might 
dry,  and  be  properly  packed  and  forwarded,  which  might 
cause  a  difference  of  four  weeks.  The  king  gave  the 
desired  command,  and  Rauch  again  had  his  hands  free. 
The  casting  took  place  in  November,  and  December  was 
consumed  in  the  drying,  which  had  to  be  done  with  great 
care,  and  the  retouching  and  necessary  finishing  was  not 
completed  until  January,  and  on  the  first  day  of  February 
Rauch  was  relieved  from  his  task  by  the  actual  delivery 
of  the  statue. 


HISTORIC    MONUMENTS  159 

But  the  annoyances  were  not  at  an  end.  Reindel  an- 
nounced the  arrival  and  the  preliminary  placing  of  the 
statue  for  judgment  and  exhibition  in  a  place  entirely 
unfit  for  it,  and  very  badly  lighted.  But  he  himself  was 
quite  overpowered  by  the  statue,  even  under  these  cir- 
cumstances. Rauch's  patience  was  exhausted.  He  found 
an  intentional  purpose  to  mortify  him  by  this  neglect. 
He  had  asked  for  a  suitable  location  for  the  statue,  and 
they  had  given  him  the  worst  one  possible.  He  wrote 
angrily  to  the  magistrates,  proposing  to  build  a  wooden 
booth,  properly  lighted,  at  his  own  expense,  and  demanded 
that  the  exhibition  should  be  closed  until  this  was  done. 
But  fortunately  this  time  his  displeasure  was  needless. 
The  committee  themselves  saw  the  unfitness  of  the  place, 
and  at  the  sight  of  the  masterpiece  the  old  jealousies  and 
quarrels  vanished.  The  view  of  this  splendid  work  of  art, 
ten  feet  eight  inches  high,  filled  the  assembled  spectators 
as  well  as  the  committee  with  an  admiration  which  in- 
creased the  longer  they  looked  upon  it.  The  verdict  of 
the  artists  was  equally  favorable.  They  agreed  that  "the 
work  as  a  whole,  as  in  all  its  separate  parts,  was  a  perfect 
success,  and  nothing  was  left  to  desire."  This  speech 
suited  the  committee,  and  all  left  the  hall  well  satisfied. 

In  March  of  this  year  Rauch  made  a  small  copy  of  this 
statue  "  in  order  to  keep  a  remembrance  in  his  neighbor- 
hood." A  cast  is  in  the  Rauch  Museum. 

From  all  sides  the  position  of  the  statue  is  grand  and 
simple.  The  high  houses  of  Nuremberg,  with  their  rich 
lines  of  roofs,  gables,  balconies,  and  towers  form  the  back- 
ground. The  rather  small  square  has  a  decided  slope,  so 
that  the  monument  looks  down  even  to  St.  Sebald's 
Church.  The  pedestal  of  marble,  which  appears  some- 
what too  light,  gives  weight  to  the  dark  mass  of  the 
draped  figure.  The  stately  form  wears  a  cloak  richly 
trimmed  with  fur  over  a  damask  under-garment.  The 
long,  broad  sleeves  hang  down  on  both  sides.  The  left 


l6o  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

hand  holds  back  the  cloak,  and  by  this  natural  motion 
gives  occasion  for  fine  graceful  folds,  and  the  leg  is  shown 
from  the  knee  down  in  hose  and  ribboned  shoes.  The 
right  arm  falls  almost  directly  down,  and  the  hand  holds 
the  style  and  a  sprig  of  laurel. 

But  the  statue  is  still  more  noble  by  its  inward  meaning 
and  expression  :  it  is  Diirer's  very  self.  The  noble  head 
with  its  flowing  hair,  the  handsome,  regular  features,  the 
earnest,  deep  expression  of  the  eyes,  and  the  beautiful 
brow  are  the  same  that  we  are  familiar  with  in  the  por- 
traits by  his  own  hand,  while  the  manly  grace  of  his  atti- 
tude is  in  keeping  with  the  self-respect  which  always 
recognized  his  calling  as  an  artist  as  high  and  ennobling. 
It  fitly  stands  in  his  birthplace,  making  it  dearer  still  to 
all  pilgrims  to  this  shrine  of  truth  and  beauty. 

Much  discussion  took  place  in  regard  to  the  pedestal. 
Rauch  was  very  earnest  to  have  Heideloff's  designs  carried 
out  for  a  bronze  pedestal  with  rich  bass-reliefs.  He  wrote 
earnestly  to  the  magistrates,  urging  this  point,  and  offering 
to  give  his  own  assistance  in  making  models  for  the  ped- 
estal without  remuneration.  The  Nurembergers  seemed 
willing  to  bear  the  expense  ;  but  Reindel  writes  to  Rauch, 
April  19,  1838,  that  it  was  some  time  before  a  decision 
came  from  the  king.  But  now  it  is  here,  contrary  to  all 
expectation,  it  is  that  the  pedestal  shall  be  made  according 
to  a  design  sent,  in  the  simplest  manner,  entirely  of  stone, 
with  no  bronze  work,  and  must  be  executed  as  soon  as 
possible,  since  the  erection  of  the  whole  monument  must 
take  place  without  fail  on  the  twentieth  of  May,  1839.  On 
one  side  comes  the  inscription,  and  on  the  three  others,  in 
round  Gothic  ornament,  Diirer's  monogram,  his  arms,  and 
the  state  arms. 

This  was  after  Ludwig's  usual  fashion,  when  he  had 
done  the  utmost  for  a  great  work  of  art,  to  hurry  up  the 
conclusion  for  a  definite  time,  at  the  risk  of  spoiling  the 
whole  effect.  Gartner  was  the  architect  of  the  simple 


ALBERT  DCRER,  NUREMBERG 


HISTORIC    MONUMENTS  l6l 

pedestal,  and  Klenze,  through  whom  Rauch  heard  of  the 
plan,  begged  him  to  oppose  it,  pointing  out  how  unsuit- 
able the  marble  pedestal  would  be  to  a  bronze  statue.  To 
avoid  delay  the  king  gave" up  the  proposed  ornaments  on 
the  side,  having  only  an  inscription  on  the  front  :  — 

ALBRECHT  DURER. 
and  on  the  back  :  — 

ERRICHTET   AM   XXI.   MAI    MDCCCXL. 

It  will  be  remembered  with  what  difficulty  the  casting 
of  the  statue  was  secured  to  Burgschmiedt.  He  did  it 
splendidly.  He  first  made  a  trial  of  separate  parts,  as 
the  sleeve,  lock  of  hair,  head,  and  right  hand.  Reindel 
says,  "  The  trials  of  Burgschmiedt  succeed  beyond  expec- 
tation. The  surface  is  so  thick  and  fine  that  it  only 
needs  to  be  cleaned  in  order  to  make  the  clear  color  of 
the  material  visible,  and  chiselling  is  quite  superfluous." 
He  also  says  of  the  casting  of  the  whole  statue,  that  those 
acquainted  with  the  best  French  casting  say  they  have 
seen  nothing  better.  Even  Schinkel,  who  saw  the  nearly 
finished  monument  when  travelling  through  Germany, 
declared  the  casting  to  be  extraordinarily  fine,  and  as  pure 
as  the  model.  On  the  thirtieth  of  March,  1840,  the  magis- 
trates made  known  that  the  casting  was  successful,  and 
the  monument  would  be  unveiled  on  Diirer's  birthday, 
the  twenty-first  of  May. 

This  must,  of  course,  be  done  with  festivities  worthy  of 
the  occasion,  to  which  Rauch  was  invited.  He  started 
with  his  daughter  Doris  for  Halle,  where  they  were  joined 
by  Agnes.  They  gladly  accepted  the  invitation  of  Platner, 
a  member  of  the  committee,  to  dwell  with  him  in  the 
^Egidienplatz. 

All  the  dignitaries  of  the  city  were  present,  and  the 
address  was  made  by  the  first  Burgomaster  Binder.  The 


l62  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

covering  fell  off,  and,  deeply  overcome  by  the  emotion  of 
the  moment,  the  two  masters,  Rauch  and  Burgschmiedt, 
embraced  amid  a  tumult  of  applause.  After  the  feast  in 
the  Rathhaus  came  a  torchlight  procession  in  honor  of 
the  artist.  Post-horses  were  ordered  for  the  journey  home ; 
"but,"  says  Rauch  in  his  diary,  "  instead  of  the  post-horses 
ordered,  Herr  Platner  surprised  us  with  his  four  black 
horses  harnessed  to  the  carriage.  With  hearts  full  of 
thanks  and  emotion  we  took  leave  of  this  love-worthy 
family.  At  the  Erlanger  Gate  I  was,  to  my  great  surprise, 
again  greeted  by  my  friendly  host  and  my  artist  friends, 
Reindel,  Heideloff,  Dr.  Zumpe,  etc.,  and  with  a  '  lebehocli ' 
wished  a  pleasant  journey,  wherewith,  in  inextinguishable 
remembrance  of  a  joyous,  happy  day,  with  a  thankful 
heart  toward  these  friends  and  this  city,  I  continued  my 
journey." 

Thus  the  wearisome  delays  and  many  anxieties  that  had 
hindered  the  progress  of  this  monument  came  to  a  happy 
end ;  and  Dr.  Eggers  considers  this  as  the  best  of  all 
Rauch's  portrait  statues,  far  surpassing  any  of  his  military 
ones. 

Rauch  had  modelled  the  face  of  Durer  from  several 
different  pictures,  but  he  took  the  profile  from  a  medallion 
of  Durer.  He  used  this  head  for  the  portrait  of  Durer  to 
be  placed  in  the  Walhalla,  only  being  obliged  to  change 
the  arrangement  of  hair  to  suit  the  prescribed  Hermes 
form. 


KING    LUDWIG    OF    BAVARIA  163 


CHAPTER   IX 

KING    LUDWIG    OF    BAVARIA 
1812-1852 

THE  frequent  mention  of  the  King  of  Bavaria,  which 
occurs  in  connection  with  the  account  of  the  Diirer  statue, 
leads  naturally  to  a  review  of  Rauch's  relations  to  that  art- 
loving  monarch,  which  led  to  the  production  of  some  of 
the  most  important,  as  well  as  most  characteristic  and 
beautiful,  of  Rauch's  works. 

Rauch  had  been  in  friendly  relations  with  this  prince 
since  his  visit  to  Munich  in  1811,  and  had  received  many 
commissions  for  busts,  which  he  put  into  marble  in  Car- 
rara. In  the  beginning  of  his  bust-work  Rauch  had 
received  only  five  hundred  and  fifty  gulden  (one  thousand 
marks,  or  two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars)  for  a  bust ;  but 
in  1823  he  found  that  this  price  hardly  covered  more  than 
the  outlay  ;  and  he  announced  that  he  could  not  even  make 
the  Scharnhorst,  which  he  had  already  begun,  for  less 
than  double  that  price. '  The  crown  prince  was  unpleas- 
antly surprised  at  this  announcement ;  but  after  two  years, 
having  become  king,  he  promised  to  pay  the  increased 
price,  but  at  the  same  time  sought  for  sculptors  in  Berlin 
who  would  work  cheaper,  and  gave  some  commissions  to 
Tieck  and  Wichmann. 

Ludwig  had  already  conceived  the  magnificent  project 
of  the  Walhalla,  a  monument  to  the  heroes  of  Germany  ; 
and  it  was  a  delightful  thing  to  Rauch,  in  his  fever  of 
patriotic  excitement,  to  have  commissions  for  the  busts 
of  Blucher  and  Schwarzenberg,  to  be  placed  in  this  new 
temple  of  glory.  All  the  little  feeling  about  the  price  of 


164  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

the  busts  soon  vanished,  and,  as  Ludwig  said,  "  he  was 
most  anxious  to  confer  with  the  sculptor  Rauch."  A 
peculiarity  of  Rauch's  early  work  may  be  found  in  the 
busts  in  the  Walhalla,  in  the  turning  of  the  head  so  that 
the  front  view  gives  almost  a  three-quarters'  view  of  the 
face. 

The  prince  soon  found  fitting  opportunity  to  show  his 
interest  in  the  sculptor.  When  his  father,  Max  Joseph, 
celebrated  the  festival  of  his  five  and  twenty  years'  rule, 
the  magistracy  of  the  capital  decided  on  a  monument  to 
him,  and  to  invite  the  crown  prince  to  take  charge  of  it. 

The  exhaustion  of  the  city  treasure  through  the  build- 
ing of  a  theatre  prevented  the  immediate  execution  of 
this  work,  and  Max  Joseph  did  not  long  survive  this  festi- 
val ;  but  King  Ludwig  seized  the  opportunity  to  carry  out 
the  work  on  a  grand  scale,  and  asked  Rauch  whether  and 
on  what  conditions  he  would  come  to  Munich  to  see  the 
locality  and  arrange  for  a  colossal  statue  to  be  cast  by 
Stiglmaier.  For  Rauch  there  was  no  question  in  regard 
to  this  commission,  honorable  to  any  artist ;  but  the 
answer  must  depend  upon  his  king.  The  king  graciously 
gave  permission  for  an  absence  of  eighteen  months. 
Rauch  announced  his  plan  to  Klenze  in  November ;  but 
the  work  on  the  Bliicher  statue  delayed  him  until  the 
following  April,  and  then  the  journey  was  entered  upon 
with  somewhat  changed  conditions.  Rauch  made  a  sketch 
of  Max  Joseph  in  the  manner  prescribed,  sitting  on  a 
throne  in  royal  array  ;  but  he  thought  it  best  to  go 
to  Munich  only  for  the  preparation,  and  to  make  the 
model  in  Berlin,  doing  only  the  last  work  on  the  colossal 
statue  in  Munich.  He  now,  therefore,  asked  leave  for 
only  a  short  absence  for  this  journey,  which  he  wished  to 
extend  to  Paris,  as  they  proposed,  according  to  his  advice, 
to  build  a  large  new  foundery  at  Munich,  and  he  must, 
therefore,  make  himself  acquainted  with  the  French 
works. 


KING    LUDWIG    OF    BAVARIA  165 

April  25,  1825,  Rauch  went  to  Munich  with  the  sketches, 
and  was  received  by  the  young  king  as  an  old  friend.  It 
was  plain  to  see  how  delighted  he  was  to  find  himself  in 
the  sphere  of  activity  for  which  he  had  longed,  and  how 
he  enjoyed  the  long  conversations  with  Rauch.  On  the 
seventh  of  May  the  king  approved  the  design  of  the 
monument  in  all  its  parts.  The  exhibition  of  the  sketches 
became  a  real  festival,  at  which  many  royal  and  noble 
personages,  both  lords  and  ladies,  assisted.  Rauch  also 
enjoyed  the  society  of  artists  and  collectors,  and  with  a 
joyful  mind  took  part  in  the  performance  of  a  festival 
play  which  commemorated  the  ascent  to  the  throne  by 
King  Ludwig.  It  was  carried  out  with  great  animation 
by  amateurs  in  declamation,  song,  and  dancing. 

Rauch  left  Munich  May  13,  to  satisfy  his  long-felt 
desire  to  visit  Paris,  which  he  felt  to  be  necessary  to 
the  completion  of  his  culture  in  art.  Stiglmaier  was 
chosen  for  his  companion,  on  account  of  his  knowledge 
of  the  Parisian  bronze  founderies. 

At  Stuttgart  he  had  great  pleasure  in  spending  four 
rich  hours  in  the  study  of  the  famous  Boisseree  collec- 
tion ;  and  these  pictures  were  to  him,  "  next  to  Raphael's, 
the  wonder  of  the  world."  Then  he  saw  his  old  friend 
Dannecker  again,  after  an  interval  of  twelve  years,  and 
says  that  the  Ariadne,  which  he  had  seen  in  the  model, 
charmed  him  more  than  ever  ;  but  a  statue  of  Christ,  and 
another  of  John,  had  little  attraction  for  him.  He  sought 
in  vain  for  the  meaning  as  well  as  the  form  in  them. 
Certainly  Dannecker  has  in  these  works  not  only  gone 
beyond  the  limits  of  his  power,  but  the  boundaries  of  art. 
When  we  meet  him  on  the  ground  of  the  antique,  or  sub- 
jects approaching  to  it,  then  we  see  the  old  school-fellow 
of  Schiller  create  plastic  works  in  which  he  has  done 
the  best  of  his  time.  "  It  is  doing  Canova  no  wrong, 
but  one  is  only  fair  to  Dannecker,  when  one  ascribes 
to  him  no  little  merit  that  he  has  essentially  brought 


166  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

about  the  turning  away  from  the  time  of  modern  stupidity 
(Zopfzeii),  and  the  return  to  the  antique."  Ranch  thought 
that  Dannecker  had  tried  to  express  in  the  Christ  the 
words,  "  I  go  to  my  Father,"  and  that  this  is  impossible  to 
represent  in  sculpture  without  any  action.  "The  wish," 
he  says,  "  to  say  too  much,  and  to  characterize  too  strongly, 
and  to  express  too  many  details,  leads  to  obscure  speech, 
and  consequently  to  want  of  the  characteristic,  a  fault 
that  we  repeatedly  meet  with  in  the  development  of 
plastic  art."  At  Strasburg,  Rauch  enjoyed  the  magnifi- 
cent cathedral,  and  paid  his  respects  to  the  old  Ohmacht, 
to  whom  his  own  city  is  indebted  for  so  much  plastic 
adornment,  especially  the  bust  of  Klopstock.  He  tried 
to  engage  Helmsdorf,  a  landscape  painter,  as  a  teacher 
for  the  Berlin  Art  Academy,  which  did  not  yet  satisfy 
him. 

A  rapid  journey  of  two  days  brought  him  to  Paris, 
where  he  wandered  as  in  Elysian  fields,  or,  as  he  says,  "  in 
the  happiest  intoxication,"  at  finding  himself  where  he 
had  so  long  desired  to  be.  Schinkel  and  Beuth,  whom  he 
had  hoped  to  meet,  had  gone  to  London.  "  Don't  send 
me  a  letter,"  he  wrote  to  Schinkel,  "but  a  long  list  of  all 
that  I  must  see."  Alexander  von  Humboldt  introduced 
him  to  Hittorf,  and  for  two  weeks  both  were  his  constant 
and  delightful  guides. 

First,  the  sculpture  of  the  Louvre  attracted  him,  next 
to  that  of  Rome  the  finest  museum  of  ancient  sculpture 
in  the  world.  After  that  came  the  works  of  the  French 
sculptors.  He  speaks  with  pleasant  appreciation  of  all  his 
contemporaries.  He  calls  Cortot's  relief  of  the  king  of 
Spain  "a  distinguished  work  of  art."  Of  David  D'An- 
gier's  statue  of  Racine,  bust  of  Lafayette,  and  several 
reliefs,  he  says,  "  They  are  portrayed  with  distinguished 
talent  and  knowledge."  The  aged  Houdon,  eighty-five 
years,  calls  forth  his  respect.  In  the  Theatre  Francois, 
where  he  admired  Talma  and  Mademoiselle  Duchesnois  in 


KING    LUDW1G    OF    BAVARIA  l6/ 

Hamlet,-  he  saw  "  Houdon's  statue  of  Voltaire  in  marble, 
represented  in  living  truth.  Its  living  yet  quiet  invention 
and  admirable  execution  are  like  the  best  Greek  work." 
He  is  also  delighted  with  Pere  la  Chaise,  its  beautiful 
situation  and  its  monuments,  especially  of  General  Le- 
febvre,  of  Prince  Demidoff,  Marshals  Massena  and  Ney. 
Even  the  vegetation  and  the  cypresses  in  the  open  air 
delight  his  northern  eye.  He  saw  David's  first  picture, 
the  "Oath  of  the  Horatii,"  and  his  last,  "Venus  and 
Mars,"  and  says  the  beginning  was  certainly  better  than 
the  conclusion.  He  visited  Ingres,  whom  he  had  known 
in  Rome,  and  Huyot  and  Cassas  on  account  of  their  cele- 
brated painted  studies  of  Egypt,  Greece,  Rome,  and 
Palmyra.  He  was  delighted  with  Horace  Vernet's  charm- 
ing house,  and  his  atelier  in  the  Rue  de  la  Tour  des 
Dames;  and  with  the  highest  satisfaction  he  learned  to 
know  the  Spanish  masters  in  the  collection  of  Marshal 
Soult. 

Hittorf  took  charge  of  his  architectural  entertainment, 
taking  him  to  the  Italian  opera  to  show  him  its  interior 
and  decoration,  to  the  Garden  Choiseul,  where  he  saw  a 
model  of  the  Pandrosium  of  Athens  in  its  actual  size,  and 
thence  to  Mount  Calvary  for  a  view  of  the  whole  city,  to- 
the  new  churches  by  Huyot,  and  to  the  unfinished  Arc 
d'Etoile. 

Rauch  declared  Notre  Dame  the  finest  cathedral  known 
to  him,  especially  in  its  interior,  as  by  its  whole  impres- 
sion it  was  worthy  to  stand  by  the  Dom  at  Ulm.  He 
went  to  St.  Denis,  St.  Cloud,  Meudon,  and  Versailles  with 
Humboldt,  who  also  introduced  him  to  the  royal  library, 
to  the  cabinet  of  engravings,  and  into  the  choicest  circle 
of  his  own  acquaintance.  At  Gerard's,  who  kept  open 
house  on  Wednesdays,  he  met  Duvenet,  former  director 
of  the  French  academy  at  Rome,  and  the  sculptor  Dupre, 
his  old  acquaintance.  He  learned  to  know  the  engraver 
Toschi,  as  well  as  Richomme.  He  made  arrangements 


l68  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCII 

with  them  to  receive  pupils  from  the  Berlin  Academy  ; 
and  Mandel  and  Luderitz  were  sent  to  Paris,  and  Eichens 
to  Toschi,  at  Parma,  for  a  four-years'  course.  He  visited 
the  Jardin  des  Plantes,  and  was  especially  interested  in  a 
vulture  on  account  of  the  power  of  his  wings  and  body. 

The  evenings  were  spent  at  the  theatre,  or  in  delightful 
society ;  and  on  June  5  Humboldt  gave  him  a  farewell 
dinner,  at  which  many  distinguished  artists  were  present, 
and  then,  hastening  back  without  pause,  after  eight  days 
he  met  his  family  at  Potsdam,  who  accompanied  him  the 
same  day  to  Berlin. 

In  this  same  month  Rauch  received  the  intelligence 
that  the  corner-stone  of  the  Munich  monument  was  laid ; 
but  it  was  a  year  and  a  half  before  the  contract  between 
him  and  the  Munich  magistrates  was  finally  settled. 
There  were  questions  in  regard  to  changes  in  the  sketches, 
and  to  the  estimate  of  cost,  which  required  careful  con- 
sideration and  much  correspondence.  Stiglmaier  had 
mentioned  that  critics  had  found  fault  with  the  archi- 
tectural effect  of  the  union  of  the  supporting  lions  with 
the  upper  sockel,  and  Rauch  suggested  to  Klenze  that 
candelabra  should  be  introduced.  The  jealousy  of  Klenze, 
to  whom  the  architectural  design  was  committed,  also 
caused  delay  and  trouble ;  for  he  considered  his  the  most 
important  part  of  the  work,  and  did  not  like  it  that  the 
magistrates  conferred  exclusively  with  Rauch  over  its 
execution.  He  even  caused  an  inscription  to  be  placed 
on  the  finished  monument,  "  Leo  von  Klenze  invenit." 

Before  Rauch  went  on  with  the  execution  of  the  monu- 
ment, he  availed  himself  of  a  journey  to  Nuremberg,  to 
make  an  excursion  to  Munich,  in  order  to  shorten  the 
correspondence,  and  to  bring  the  contract  to  a  final  con- 
clusion. This  came  about  with  the  representatives  of  the 
magistrates  finally  on  the  twelfth  of  February.  Accord- 
ing to  this,  Rauch  was  to  make  the  life  size  help-model  in 
Berlin,  and  in  two  years  after  its  completion  carry  out  the 


KING    LUDWIG    OF    BAVARIA  169 

full-sized  statue  in  Munich,  for  which  purpose  an  atelier 
was  to  be  provided  for  him.  The  items  of  cost  were  ex- 
actly calculated,  and  the  whole  sum  of  the  monument  was 
to  be  two  hundred  and  thirteen  thousand  marks  (fifty-three 
thousand  two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars).  He  spent  a 
week  in  Munich  in  the  enjoyment  of  the  society  of  his 
artist  friends,  and  then  hastened  back  to  Berlin  to  work. 

On  his  return  to  Berlin  he  was  himself  dissatisfied  with 
the  plan  of  the  Max  Joseph  monument ;  and,  to  fill  up  a 
space  which  he  thought  looked  empty,  he  introduced  two 
figures.  One  of  these,  finally  called  "  Felicitas  Publica," 
became  a  very  favorite  statue  for  decoration,  and  has  been 
repeated  many  times.  It  is  a  very  rich,  flowing,  majestic 
figure.  Even  as  late  as  1852  a  bronze  copy  was  placed  in 
the  city  hall  at  Breslau  in  remembrance  of  the  queen's 
visit  to  the  industrial  exhibition. 

After  finishing  this  work  Rauch  turned  to  the  life-sized 
model  of  the  sitting  statue.  On  December  18  the  first 
naked  ground-plan  was  made  and  formed  in  plaster.  He 
had  an  impression  of  this  model  made  by  Gropius  in 
papier-mack^,  and  draped  it  with  the  king's  cassimere 
cloak,  and  modelled  the  drapery  on  the  plaster.  In 
scarcely  seven  weeks,  on  March  21,  1829,  this  work  was 
finished,  and  his  workmen  were  sent  to  Munich  to  prepare 
the  iron  skeleton  for  the  colossal  model,  and  to  put  *upon 
it  the  first  layer  of  clay.  Four  chests  with  the  models  of 
the  lion  pedestal  had  preceded  them,  and  four  more  chests 
followed  in  the  beginning  of  June,  with  the  models  of  the 
king's  statue,  and  of  the  Fortuna,  with  books  and  other 
articles. 

Stiglmaier  had  long  prayed  and  hoped  for  the  sending 
of  the  model,  which  he  burned  with  curiosity  to  see. 
March  2  he  sees  an  exceedingly  high  wagon  in  the 
streets.  That  could  only  be  the  long-expected  pedestal, 
and  truly  it  was.  It  had  travelled  four  weeks,  through 
storm  and  snow,  often  with  a  team  of  eight  or  ten  horses, 


I/O  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

having  been   obliged  to  go  around  many  of  the  smaller 
towns  whose  gates  were  not  high  enough  to  admit  it. 

The  city  was  in  excitement ;  all  the  journals  announced 
that  the  colossal  statue  had  come.  But  much  yet  re- 
mained to  be  done  in  preparing  an  atelier,  for  which 
Stiglmaier  had  been  working  for  a  long  time,  and  in  find- 
ing suitable  lodgings  for  the  work-people.  Rauch  had 
his  dwelling  of  two  rooms  in  the  neighborhood  of  the 
atelier.  He  sent  careful  directions  for  all  the  details  of 
stoves,  windows,  etc.  Three  atelier  rooms  for  Rauch,  one 
large  and  two  small,  were  connected  with  the  foundery. 
In  August,  1828,  the  dry -heating  began,  and  all  the  steps 
of  progress  were  reported  to  Rauch.  Stiglmaier  could 
hardly  be  satisfied  that  any  place  could  be  good  enough 
for  the  master,  and  refused  one  of  eight  rooms  at  the 
price  of  a  thousand  gulden  ;  but  Rauch  was  more  easily 
pleased,  and  took  one  at  half  the  rent  on  Odeon  platz. 
A  housekeeper  and  servants  were  provided,  and  all  was  pre- 
pared for  him,  when  Berghes  and  Sanguinetti  announced 
that  they  were  ready  with  the  first  foundation  of  the 
building  up  of  the  statue.  Rauch  left  Berlin  on  the 
twenty-eighth  of  July,  and  to  his  great  delight  he  had 
the  companionship  of  his  dear  friend  Rietschel,  "who  would 
be  a  companion  and  help"  to  him  in  the  work  before  him. 
The  friendship  between  these  two  brothers  in  art,  of  which 
I  have  already  spoken,  had  gone  on  steadily  increasing. 
From  the  pupil,  Rietschel  had  become  the  cherished 
and  beloved  fellow-worker ;  and  Rauch  delighted  as  much 
in  his  artistic  success  as  in  his  own,  and  constantly  notes 
his  progress  in  his  diary.  When  Rietschel  failed  to  get 
the  allowance  for  a  journey  to  Italy,  Rauch  took  measures 
to  make  up  the  deficiency.  Any  one  familiar  with 
Rietschel's  work,  which  may  now  be  well  studied  in  the 
Rietschel  gallery  at  Dresden,  and  with  his  own  beautiful 
face,  as  shown  in  the  bass-relief,  can  readily  understand 
how  worthy  he  was  of  this  affection.  The  friends  made 


KING    LUDWIG    OF    BAVARIA  I /I 

a  short  visit  to  Goethe  at  Weimar,  and  reached  Munich  on 
the  second  of  July.  July  11  Rauch  first  put  his  hand  to 
the  colossal  model  of  the  king.  Soon  after  he  designed  a 
Bavaria  for  the  other  side  of  the  pedestal,  as  a  companion 
to  the  Felicitas.  After  about  four  weeks  the  last  retouch 
was  given  to  the  nude  model,  and  Rauch  could  begin  on 
the  drapery,  which  he  hoped  to  have  finished  by  the 
beginning  of  September,  in  order  to  carry  out  a  favorite 
plan  of  again  spending  the  winter  in  Italy. 

Wilhelm  von  Humboldt  writes  him  a  warm  letter  of 
congratulation  on  the  speed  and  skill  with  which  he  has 
executed  this  work.  He  says,  "  One  sees  clearly  from 
this  how  all  which  people  say  about  the  rule  of  idea  and 
feeling  in  art  is  a  pure  want  of  taste.  Ideas,  and  much 
more  genius,  must  indeed  be  there ;  but  without  the  hand 
both  are  inactive,  weak,  and  slow,  and  the  hand  needs 
practice  in  working  itself,  and  confidence  in  directing 
where  it  has  the  help  of  others.  All  does  not  take  place 
without  much  mechanism.  If  seeing,  feeling,  and  making 
do  not  lie  in  an  artist  as  in  one  mould,  it  is  only  a  half 
existence  with  him." 

But  Rauch  did  not  finish  his  work  as  soon  as  he  hoped, 
not  because  his  work  was  hindered  by  occasional  excur- 
sions with  Klenze  to  Starnberg,  and  a  visit  to  the  wid- 
owed queen  at  Tegernsee,  with  pleasant  enjoyment  of 
the  artistic  society  of  Munich,  but  because  he  took  a 
severe  cold  from  the  heavy  rainstorms  of  the  summer, 
and  the  dampness  of  the  clay,  which  delayed  him  fully 
three  weeks  ;  and  it  was  not  until  the  twenty-second  of 
September  that  he  could  resume  his  work.  During  this 
illness  Rietschel  worked  diligently  on  the  figure  of  Bava- 
ria, which  Rauch  had  sketched. 

A  visit  from  his  daughter  and  her  husband  cheered  his 
convalescence,  and  he  was  able  to  show  them  some  of  the 
beauties  of  Munich  and  its  vicinity.  On  the  thirtieth  of 
September  Rauch  received  from  Cornelius  a  diploma  of 


172  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

honorary  membership  in  the  Munich  Art  Academy,  and 
on  the  same  day  three  great  wagons  with  eighteen  horses 
brought  into  Munich  Thorwaldsen's  monument  of  the 
Duke  of  Leuchtenberg,  which  was  placed  in  the  Frauen- 
kirche.  Three  years  earlier  King  Ludwig  had  the  inten- 
tion of  giving  this  work  to  Rauch,  because  Thorwaldsen 
had  not  fulfilled  his  engagement  as  to  the  time  of  deliv- 
ery. Rauch  declared  himself  willing  to  undertake  the 
work  if  Thorwaldsen,  with  full  knowledge  of  the  circum- 
stances, wished  to  give  it  up.  This  led  to  the  completion 
of  the  monument  by  Thorwaldsen. 

On  the  twenty-fifth  of  September  a  festival  was  given 
by  the  artists,  and  on  the  twenty-seventh  Rauch  mounted 
the  carriage  with  Rietschel  which  was  to  carry  him  south. 
Rietschel  accompanied  him  as  far  as  Innspruck,  where  he 
was  obliged  to  take  leave  of  him  to  return  to  Munich. 
Rietschel  closes  his  youthful  recollections  with  these 
words :  "  As  Rauch  the  other  morning  at  six  o'clock 
went  away  from  Innspruck,  and  I  remained  behind  to  re- 
turn to  Munich  the  same  day,  the  parting  was  infinitely 
hard  to  me,  and  I  saw  that  it  was  not  easy  to  him.  My 
whole  love,  honor,  and  gratitude  followed  the  excellent 
master  and  friend."  I  will  leave  to  another  place  the 
account  of  Rauch's  journey,  to  complete  now  the  history 
of  the  monument.  Rauch  stayed  in  Italy  until  April. 
Rietschel  kept  him  constantly  informed  of  all  that  went 
on  in  Munich.  Rauch  writes  from  Rome,  "  That  the 
works  of  the  Bianconi  are  making  such  good  progress 
makes  me  very  happy,  and  I  am  full  of  obligation  to  you  ; 
for  you  have  been  helpful  at  my  side  in  all  parts  of  this 
heavy  business.  For  all,  all  my  most  hearty  and  undi- 
vided thanks."  As  in  January  they  are  busy  with  the 
plaster,  Rauch  repeats  how  happy  the  news  from  the  ate- 
lier makes  him,  although  he  says  that  he  is  only  half  happy, 
since  he  is  not  at  the  work  himself.  "  But  I  hope  to 
make  up  for  all,  and  to  be  very  busy  in  Berlin.  For  I  see 


KING    LUDWIG    OF    BAVARIA  173 

better  what  I  really  should  do  myself."  But  soon  after 
Rietschel  was  obliged  to  return  to  Dresden,  on  account 
of  the  work  on  the  model  of  a  statue  of  King  Frederic 
Augustus,  and  Rauch  sent  to  Berlin  for  other  help.  He 
left  the  matter  to  Tieck,  and  it  was  arranged  that  Drake 
should  go  to  Munich.  Drake  was  a  favorite  pupil  and  a 
most  efficient  helper,  and  he  bore  an  important  part  in 
the  completion  of  the  monument.  During  the  absence  of 
Rauch  in  Italy  they  worked  on  the  great  model  in  plaster, 
often  under  the  eye  of  King  Ludwig,  who  willingly  praised 
their  work,  but  did  not  hesitate  to  scold  them  if  he 
thought  they  left  off  work  too  early  before  a  holiday. 

Rauch  returned  to  Munich  April  18,  and  gave  three 
weeks  to  working  on  the  hand  and  head  of  the  colossal 
statue  ;  but  his  work  was  hindered  by  the  same  trouble  in 
the  back  and  limbs  from  which  he  had  suffered  before.  He 
could  work  only  in  the  forenoon  ;  the  afternoon  was  given 
to  the  cure.  At  night  he  suffered  severe  pain.  Steam- 
baths,  leeches,  blood-letting,  were  tried  ;  but  nothing  gave 
him  relief,  and  he  left  Munich  to  go  to  the  baths  of  Gas- 
tein,  from  whence  he  returned  to  Munich  on  the  twenty- 
sixth  of  May.  He  had  nothing  more  to  do  on  the  Munich 
work,  and  could  give  it  up  to  the  casting.  The  casting 
of  the  lion-pedestals,  with  the  figures  of  Felicitas  Publica 
and  the  Bavaria,  was  successfully  accomplished  by  Stigl- 
maier  in  1831,  and  that  of  the  statue  itself  in  the  year 

1833- 

In  this  statue  Rauch  has  happily  overcome  many  of  the 
difficulties  of  a  sitting  figure  placed  on  a  high  pedestal. 
The  king,  in  his  coronation  mantle,  sits  on  a  throne  with 
his  head  lightly  turned  to  the  right,  the  right  hand  raised 
in  the  act  of  blessing,  while  the  left,  leaning  on  a  support, 
seizes  by  the  middle  the  sceptre  lying  on  the  upper  arm. 
The  mantle,  drawn  over  the  right  shoulder,  opens  itself  to 
the  upraised  right  arm,  which  is  clothed  with  a  richly 
embroidered  uniform.  A  very  good  bust  by  Stiglmaier 


174  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

served  as  the  model  for  the  head,  and  in  the  full  face  is  the 
expression  of  benevolent  earnestness. 

Not  only  does  Rauch  express  the  warmest  gratitude  for 
Rietschel's  assistance  in  this  work,  but  he  also  learned  to 
prize  another  pupil,  Drake,  and  he  predicted  his  brilliant 
future  career.  "  Herr  Drake  is  fully  occupied  with  some 
commissions  in  my  atelier,  and  will  soon  gain  a  distin- 
guished reputation.  He  is  yet  very  young."  And  again, 
"  Drake  is  such  a  talent  as  only  appears  from  century  to 
century." 

When  Rauch  returned  to  Berlin,  he  found  so  many 
claims  upon  him  that  he  could  not  do  anything  more  for 
the  monument  for  a  whole  year.  But  the  bass-reliefs  for 
the  upper  pedestal  were  still  wanting.  Rietschel  assisted 
him  in  the  work.  I  will  give  the  description  of  the  best 
ones,  which  represent  the  relation  of  religion  and  art.  He 
has  represented  the  two  great  branches  of  the  Christian 
church  by  the  figures  of  its  priests,  with  an  angel  between 
them,  extending  her  hands  to  the  shoulder  of  each,  while 
the  light  of  the  Holy  Ghost  on  her  head  illumines  all 
around.  The  Catholic  has  the  features  of  the  Court 
Bishop  von  Straber,  who  was  personally  known  to  Rauch ; 
and  the  Protestant  is  modelled  from  the  portrait  of  Von 
Schmidt,  cabinet  preacher  of  Queen  Caroline,  and  the 
leading  Protestant  minister  in  Munich. 

Equally  interesting  is  the  representation  of  art  in  the 
second  field.  In  the  first  sketch  the  figures  were  purely 
allegorical,  but  Rauch  finally  took  the  portrait  of  Corne- 
lius sitting  at  the  easel  for  the  principal  figure.  On  the 
left  the  sculptor  is  working  and  looking  up  to  a  plaster 
group  of  Charity,  while  on  the  right  sits  the  architect 
taking  measures  for  a  ground-plan,  and  behind  him,  in  the 
background,  are  workmen  raising  stones. 

As  Rauch  was  considering  the  plan  of  this  relief,  he 
expressed  to  Drake  his  wish  that  he  -had  Klenze  for  a 
model  of  the  head  of  the  architect.  At  that  moment 


KING    LUDWIG    OF    BAVARIA  175 

Klenze  walked  in,  and  Rauch  insisted  that  he  must  stand 
as  a  model.  Impossible  !  He  was  on  his  way  to  Peters- 
burg, and  had  only  a  half-hour  to  spare.  "Just  enough! " 
cried  Rauch,  while  Drake,  at  a  wink  of  his  eye,  at  once 
prepared  a  form  and  the  modelling-stick.  Now  Klenze 
must  stand  still,  though  on  coals,  and  with  watch  in  hand. 
In  twenty-nine  and  one-half  minutes  Drake  showed  him 
the  relief-portrait.  Klenze  took  the  stick  and  wrote  on 
the  rim  of  it,  twenty-nine  and  one-half  minutes,  and  then 
vanished.  In  that  time  the  sculptor  had  seized  all  the 
strong  peculiarities  of  the  face,  and  the  tangled,  bushy 
hair.  On  the  third  side,  with  the  inscription,  is  the  repre- 
sentation of  science  by  an  astronomer,  who  investigates 
the  heavens  with  his  telescope,  while  a  figure  of  Night 
discloses  the  constellations  from  under  her  veil ;  and  on 
the  other  side,  by  the  biologist,  who  gazes  with  wonder  at 
the  singular  forms  which  Tellus  reaches  up  from  out  of 
her  depths.  Thus  Rauch  paid  honor  to  those  scientific 
men,  such  as  Oken,  Schubert,  Schellirig,  Fraunhofer, 
whom  King  Ludwig  had  welcomed  to  add  to  the  glory  of 
Munich.  Dr.  Eggers  makes  the  criticism  on  this  relief 
that  "  it  is  disturbing  ;  that  the  pillar,  the  laurel-tree,  and 
the  figure  of  Tellus  are  cut  through  by  the  line  of  the 
relief-field."  For  once  Rauch  seems  to  have  confused 
the  boundaries  of  the  arts,  and  attempted  a  picturesque 
effect  more  appropriate  to  painting. 

The  king  was  now  becoming  very  impatient,  and  wished 
to  set  the  first  of  May  as  the  time  for  the  unveiling  of  the 
monument  ;  but  even  kings  must  wait.  It  was  impossible 
to  have  the  work  done  at  that  time,  and  it  was  finally  only 
on  September  5  that  the  colossal  image,  drawn  by  twelve 
horses,  was  brought  from  the  foundery  to  its  position.  The 
last  necessary  work  upon  it  filled  up  the  rest  of  the  month. 
The  first  Tuesday  of  the  festival  week,  October  13,  was 
decided  on  for  the  unveiling.  Rauch  was  expected  to  be 
present,  and  Stiglmaier  secured  rooms  for  him  just  oppo- 


1/6  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

site  to  the  monument.  He  started  with  his  son-in-law, 
D' Alton,  from  Halle,  September  30,  in  order  to  arrive  in 
Munich  on  Sunday  for  the  first  day  of  the  festival  ;  but, 
owing  to  over-wearied  post-horses,  they  arrived  on  the 
fifth  day  in  the'  Theresien  Meadow,  just  as  the  train  of 
wagons  which  represented  the  Alt-Bavarien's  circle  by  the 
wearers  of  different  costumes  drew  up  before  the  royal 
tent.  They  saw  everything  ;  the  shooters,  the  wrestlers, 
the  beauty  of  the  splendid  beasts,  —  goats,  steers,  cows, 
horses,  and  swine.  Ninety  thousand  men  must  have  been 
present. 

The  next  morning  Rauch  went  with  Stiglmaier  to  the 
monument,  still  in  the  booth,  and  on  which  the  men  were 
working.  He  was  not  entirely  satisfied  with  the  effect  of 
the  casting,  and  said  he  could  not  understand  whether  it 
was  owing  to  the  want  of  skill  of  the  workmen,  or  the 
difficulty  of  the  material,  that  the  final  effect  of  bronze 
leaves  so  much  to  be  wished  for,  and  that  this  material  does 
not  compare  with  marble  in  the  capacity  for  expression. 

The  first  general  idea  of  the  reliefs  was  to  represent  the 
giving  of  the  constitution,  and  the  blessings  which  flow 
from  a  well-ordered  government. 

The  first  relief,  in  the  composition  of  which  Rietschel 
assisted,  represented  law  and  agriculture.  Both  are 
treated  allegorically. 

Rietschel,  who  had  become  professor  of  the  academy  at 
Dresden,  and  established  a  household  there,  now  came  to 
join  Rauch  at  Munich,  and  together  they  visited  the 
studios,  and  examined  many  works  of  art. 

On  the  twelfth  the  monument  was  shown  to  the  king 
by  Klenze.  The  king  expressed  high  praise  of  it,  and  told 
Rauch  that  he  felt  he  was  right  in  the  decision  not  to 
yield  to  his  wish  to  retain  him  entirely  in  his  service,  but 
to  remain  in  his  home  and  true  to  his  own  king. 

The  day  of  unveiling  at  last  arrived.  Rauch  had  "  a 
restless  night  from  the  very  fulness  of  his  prosperity." 


KING    LUDWIG    OF    BAVARIA  177 

The  excitement  of  seeing  his  finished  work  in  its  abiding- 
place  left  him  no  peace.  He  hurried  out  of  his  house  and 
found  the  morning  cloudy.  He  hastened  the  passage  of 
the  morning  hours  by  making  some  visits,  and  he  went  to 
the  Art  Exhibition  to  forget  himself  in  the  works  of  others. 
He  was  enthusiastic  for  the  excellent  Peter  Hess'  picture, 
"  The  Entrance  of  King  Otto  from  Greece  into  Nauplia,"  as 
"  a  work  of  the  most  striking  talent."  "  So  I  went,"  he 
notes,  "through  the  wet,  but  by  degrees  animated,  streets 
to  my  dwelling,  where  I  found  that  the  Maximilian  Street 
was  gradually  filling  up.  Burgher  guards  on  foot  and  on 
horseback,  the  trades  with  their  flags  each  borne  by  two 
men,  the  boys  with  their  leaders,  and  the  maidens  dressed 
in  blue  and  white,  formed  two  choirs  near  the  monument. 
Towards  half-past  twelve  came  the  persons  of  the  minis- 
try of  the  university  and  of  the  academy,  in  fine  gala  dress, 
and  with  uncovered  heads,  and  then  the  clergy,  with  the 
archbishop  and  court  bishop  at  their  head.  The  magis- 
trates went  into  the  new  palace,  but  soon  returned,  and 
after  them  the  whole  court  in  full  array.  The  king  came 
with  a  quick  step,  followed  by  the  royal  princes,  the  Field- 
Marshal  Prince  Wrede,  the  generalship,  pages,  etc.  The 
choir-singing  began,  and  the  second  burgomaster  asked 
permission  of  the  king  to  unveil  the  statue,  which  the 
king  granted.  The  archbishop  pronounced  a  blessing, 
and  at  a  pull  of  the  first  burgomaster  on  the  cord,  the 
golden  image  stood  free.  A  hymn  sounded  amid  the 
ringing  of  all  the  bells  in  the  city,  and  the  thunder  of  one 
hundred  and  one  cannon  most  powerfully  accompanied 
the  inward  feeling  and  the  outward  expression.  With 
Edouard"  (d'Alton),  "  Stiglmaier  and  his  family,  with 
friend  Rietschel,  Preacher  Trautschold,  and  other  friends, 
I  looked  out  from  my  dwelling  at  the  spectacle,  to  which 
Heaven  did  not  appear  unkind,  since  the  cloudy  day  cleared 
at  the  moment  of  unveiling,  and  lighted  the  monument 
and  the  scene  for  two  seconds,  which  made  a  great  impres- 


178  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

sion  on  us  all,  and  cleared  my  spirit  so  that  I  recovered 
from  all  the  care  and  uncertainty  of  a  nine-years'  work, 
and  was  peaceful  and  happy  over  its  success.  All  my 
earlier  wishes  were  richly  fulfilled."  On  that  and  the 
following  day  Rauch  was  constantly  accompanied  with 
ever-renewed  good  wishes  and  congratulations  until  the 
moment  when  he  set  foot  into  his  carriage,  which  at  noon 
stood  at  the  door.  The  king  took  leave  of  him  most  gra- 
ciously, and,  after  a  short  stay  at  Halle,  he  returned  to  his 
workshop  at  Berlin. 

Before  closing  this  chapter  I  must  devote  a  page  to 
Rauch's  Italian  journey,  which  I  passed  over  lightly  in 
order  not  to  interrupt  the  story  of  the  Max  Joseph  monu- 
ment. It  is  chiefly  important  for  his  observations  on 
ancient  and  modern  art. 

Rauch  had  long  felt  an  earnest  desire  to  revisit  Italy, 
and  his  Italian  friends  constantly  urged  him  to  come 
there.  His  friend  Humboldt  encouraged  him  in  these 
words  :  "  To  visit  Italy,  to  travel  through  it  quickly,  and 
then  with  increased  courage  and  fresh  longing  for  work 
to  come  back,  is  the  happiest  thought  that  you  could  con- 
ceive." 

He  began  his  journey  October  27,  1829.  He  went  by 
Innspruck  and  the  Italian  lakes,  and  spent  the  Sunday  at 
Milan.  He  wandered  about  the  wonderful  cathedral  at 
evening,  admiring  the  effect  of  its  thousand  statues.  He 
met  here  "  the  interesting  engraver  "  Longhi,  and  visited 
both  painters  and  sculptors.  He  then  went  to  Genoa, 
Spezzia,  and  Carrara,  where  he  found  his  own  work  in 
good  progress.  His  constant  correspondence  with  Riet- 
schel,  and  his  note-book,  give  full  accounts  of  this  journey. 
At  Lucca  he  speaks  of  the  pictures  of  Fra  Bartolommeo, 
and  then  he  came  to  his  old  friends  at  Florence. 

November  20  he  left  Florence  with  a  vettnrino,  and 
enjoyed  the  cold  weather,  which  enabled  him  to  go  much 
on  foot.  He  says,  "  Everything  after  my  long  absence 


KING    LUDWIG    OF    BAVARIA  179 

has  for  me  a  closer,  higher  interest."  He  reached  Rome 
on  the  twenty-fifth.  He  is  constantly  with  Thorwaldsen, 
and  speaks  most  tenderly  of  this  old  friend,  and  will 
delay  his  journey  to  Naples  to  be  with  him,  as  he  was 
soon  to  leave  for  Munich.  He  is  in  his  old  home  again 
with  Frau  Buti,  and  he  finds  the  city  cleaner  and  more 
friendly  than  before,  and  French  and  English  more 
spoken. 

He  touches  lightly  on  many  artistic  points,  but  says  he 
stood  two  hours  before  the  Transfiguration  of  Raphael, 
sunk  in  admiration  and  enjoyment,  and  could  only  look  at 
the  Madonna  del  Foligno,  the  morning  was  so  dreamed 
away.  The  next  day  was  given  to  the  Raphael  Stanze, 
of  which  he  says,  "  It  seems  as  if  I  had  never  seen  any- 
thing so  beautiful  ;  never  this  fulness  and  richness  ;  never 
the  whole;  never  the  details  seen  and  felt  so  carefully." 

Thorwaldsen  was  to  take  possession  of  Rauch's  house  in 
Munich  ;  and  Rauch  writes,  "  Thorwaldsen  will  need  no 
other  accommodation  than  lodging,  service,  and  breakfast, 
but  especially  your  help  not  to  miss  the  artists  and  good 
friends.  Place  my  models  skilfully  in  view  in  the  atelier, 
but  leave  the  large  one  of  the  king's  statue  where  it  is  ; 
it  will  not  interest  him." 

Rauch  was  deeply  interested  in  the  two-days'  visit  to 
Pompeii,  and  the  other  beauties  of  the  Bay  of  Naples. 
His  evenings  were  spent  at  the  theatre.  He  was  aston- 
ished and  delighted  at  the  Pompeian  paintings,  and  says, 
"  These  days  are  the  most  satisfactory  of  my  life.  The 
works  of  painting  especially  busied  my  thought,  and 
always  repeated  to  me  '  that  with  the  end  of  the  Greeks, 
painting  disappeared  from  the  world.'  I  always  believed 
this  as  regards  forms,  but  now  that  I  have  seen  the  colors 
on  the  wet  walls  I  am  astonished  at  their  harmony.  The 
workmen  are  now  busied  with  the  house  of  Meleager ;  all 
which  comes  to  light  is  of  the  highest  richness  and  excel- 
lence :  one  house  on  this  street  even  surpasses  that  in 


ISO  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    KAUCH 

richness  and  beauty."  He  does  not  neglect  the  modern 
artists,  and  speaks  with  praise  of  Colantonio  del  Fiore 
(II  Zingaro),  Antonio  Solario,  and  the  old  Southern 
school. 

But  most  exciting  of  all  his  excursions  was  that  to 
Psestum,  where  he  saw  the  noblest  of  Greek  ruins  in 
Italy,  which  are  still  more  impressive  from  the  solemn 
loneliness  of  their  surroundings.  His  keen  eye  detected 
in  the  stalls  of  the  archbishops  at  Salerno  ancient  capitals 
in  the  stone  of  Paestum,  and  he  suspected  their  origin 
to  be  from  a  fourth  temple  at  Paestum,  not  yet  brought  to 
light.  He  was  promised  that  immediate  steps  should  be 
taken  to  excavate  this  temple ;  but  the  work  was  delayed 
by  the  unsuitable  condition  of  the  ground.  This  is  what 
is  now  called  the  ruins  of  an  amphitheatre.  Official 
notice  of  his  discovery  was  sent  to  Berlin  in  December. 
Pausing  at  Benevento  on  his  way  from  Naples,  he  is  so 
much  excited  by  the  Arch  of  Trajan,  that  he  declares 
"  that  all  which  is  most  worthy  of  seeing  from  antiquity 
is  less  important  than  this." 

On  returning  to  Rome,  as  he  had  already  written  to 
Rietschel,  Ranch  felt  a  strong  desire  to  remain  and  model 
and  finish  a  statue  there  ;  but  he  was  convinced  by  the 
wise  advice  of  his  friend  Humboldt,  who  wrote  him  thus  : 
"  I  thought  that  to  see  Italy,  and  above  all  Rome  again, 
would  be  an  unending  enjoyment  to  you,  and,  more  than 
that,  a  true  elevation  of  the  spirit,  a  new  nourishment  of 
the  fancy,  and  a  true  encouragement  to  new  efforts ;  and 
your  letter  tells  me  that  it  has  entirely  proved  so.  But  I 
wish,  not  only  for  all  our  sakes,  but  hold  it  better  for 
yourself,  that  you  should  return  to  Germany  in  the  spring. 
The  time  of  life  for  work  passes  very  quickly,  and  if  it  be 
a  charming  plan  to  remain  a  year  in  Rome  to  finish  a 
determined  work,  yet  this  appears  to  me  practically  un- 
feasible ;  since,  especially  for  a  sculptor,  a  great  expendi- 
ture of  time  and  cost  goes  to  the  bare  erection.  One 


KING    LUDWIG    OF    BAVARIA  l8l 

should  then  decide  to  choose  either  Rome  or  the  father- 
land for  his  work-place,  and  unite  therewith  visits  to  the 
other,  as  you  are  now  doing,  which  thus  gives  freedom  to 
the  fancy,  without  her  becoming  one-sided  and  uniform 
from  continuous  work." 

He  remained  a  month  in  his  own  villa,  rejoicing  in  the 
trees  which  he  had  planted,  and  modelled  a  bust  of  Prince 
Henry  of  Prussia  in  clay.  He  speaks  of  his  desire  to 
return  home,  as  he  is  now  a  happy  grandfather,  and 
Humboldt  also  wishes  him  to  come  back  for  the  opening 
of  the  Museum. 

At  Siena  he  remarks  that  the  artists,  more  especially 
Duccio,  whose  works  in  purity  of  form  and  execution 
remind  one  of  the  fine  pictures  of  Pompeii,  must  have 
seen  the  ancient  paintings.  This  dependence  on  the 
antique  was  also  evident  in  the  sculpture  of  the  celebrated 
Niccolo  Pisano. 

A  short  stay  was  made  in  Florence  with  his  old  com- 
panions ;  a  day  or  two  spent  in  Bologna,  and  the  same  in 
Parma,  where  Toschi  accompanied  him  on  his  art-excur- 
sions ;  and  he  proceeded  over  the  Brenner  Pass,  and 
reached  Munich,  April  9.  Boisseree  writes,  "  Rauch  is 
here  and  full  of  his  Italian  journey.  He  looks  somewhat 
thin,  but  right  well  ;  and  what  he  tells  in  his  lively,  spir- 
ited way  raises  my  longing  to  go  thither."  He  had  been 
at  work  on  the  king's  monument  only  three  weeks,  how- 
ever, when  his  health  broke  down,  and  he  was  ordered  to 
the  baths  at  Gastein  to  recruit. 

He  gives  a  lively  account  of  his  journey  and  his  annoy- 
ance from  his  servant's  smoking  bad  tobacco.  He  never 
forgets  his  art,  but  takes  the  opportunity  of  his  ten-min- 
utes' bath  to  study  his  own  limbs  in  the  water,  as  the 
anatomy  is  more  evident.  He  also  notes  the  beautiful 
color  of  the  flesh,  and  wonders  if  Goethe  ever  took  the 
bath  there,  which  must  have  given  him  heavenly  pleasure. 
He  wishes  that  his  feet  had  eyes,  so  that  he  could  see  the 


1 82  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

upper  part  of  the  body  equally  well.  He  has  plenty  of 
chamois,  grouse,  and  heathcock  at  table,  but  he  says,  "  No 
nightingale  rejoices  the  ear,  no  bird  but  the  hawk ;  never 
once  the  everywhere  darling  sparrow  did  I  see,  only  a  few 
redbreasts  fly  over  the  raging  waterfall." 

His  mind  is  very  active  and  full  of  projects,  and  he 
writes  to  Rietschel  that  he  proposes  to  return  the  river 
Ache  to  its  original  bed,  so  that  the  warm  springs  may  be 
protected  from  the  noise  of  the  waterfall,  and  the  bath 
guests  may  sleep  more  peacefully. 

He  now  learns,  too,  with  great  delight,  that  the  Land- 
tag has  at  last  decided  to  erect  the  statue  of  King  Fred- 
eric Augustus  in  Berlin,  and  that  the  commission  will  be 
given  to  his  dear  pupil  Rietschel.  He  writes  to  him 
most  warmly,  and  rejoices  that  he  will  have  his  society  in 
Berlin,  as  the  statue  will  be  made  there.  He  is  anxious 
to  return,  but  thinks  the  water  is  helping  the  nervous 
affection,  and  believes  now  that  the  trouble  in  his  pru- 
dent head  has  gone  to  his  stupid  limbs  ;  "he  wishes  the 
head  had  kept  it."  He  returns  to  Berlin  in  May  with 
great  joy,  and  hopes  never  to  be  away  from  his  atelier  so 
long  again. 

Among  the  results  of  this  work  for  King  Ludwig  was 
Rauch's  great  interest  in  the  subject  of  casting  in  bronze. 
He  studied  it  earnestly  in  Paris,  and  made  very  interest- 
ing comparisons  with  the  work  of  the  ancients,  and  of  the 
old  Italians  and  Germans.  Founderies  were  established 
at  Munich,  at  Berlin,  and  at  Nuremberg,  at  all  which 
places  Rauch  had  work  done ;  and,  as  we  shall  see,  there 
was  a  wholesome  rivalry  between  them  to  do  the  best 
work,  and  obtain  the  employment  on  his  statues. 

I  will  not  attempt  to  follow  out  all  the  technical  details 
of  this  work.  The  story  of  it  was  extremely  interesting 
to  Rauch.  To  Benvenuto  Cellini  appears  to  belong  the 
merit  of  first  using  the  modern  method  of  casting  by  piece 
moulds  instead  of  the  destruction  of  the  original  model,  as 


KING    LUDWIG    OF    BAVARIA  183 

was  necessary  by  the  old  method  of  "  la  cire  perdue" 
Gottfried  Schadow  in  1791-1792  learned  this  technique  in 
Petersburg,  Stockholm,  Copenhagen,  and  Paris,  and  intro- 
duced it  into  Prussia.  Forty  years  later  Schadow  again 
brought  forward  the  subject  in  regard  to  the  Blucher 
monument  at  Rostock.  Objection  being  made  to  Goethe's 
proposal  that  it  should  be  made  by  Pflug  and  his  son  in 
copper,  a  bronze  cast  was  decided  on,  which  was  confided 
to  the  founder  Lequine,  of  Paris,  to  be  cast  in  the  Royal 
Cannon  Foundery  at  Berlin.  The  cast  of  tne  statue  gave 
satisfaction,  but  the  brass  plate  of  the  pedestal  had  to  be 
helped  by  the  hammer  as  it  was  bent  in  casting.  This 
was  in  1818.  To  this  followed  a  second  casting  of  one  of 
Schadow's  works,  the  Luther  at  Wittenberg,  which  suc- 
ceeded well  in  1819. 

Meanwhile,  Rauch  was  busy  with  preparations  for  the 
Blucher  monument  at  Breslau,  which  was  to  be  cast  in 
bronze.  He  therefore  set  himself  diligently  to  work, 
according  to  his  usual  habit,  to  learn  everything  he  could, 
not  only  about  the  practical  work,  but  of  the  history 
of  the  subject.  The  results  were  meagre,  but  historic 
research  has  since  brought  out  much  more.  He  found  in 
Germany  sporadic  cases  of  work  in  metal,  such  as  the 
equestrian  statue  of  Frederic  Augustus  II.  in  Dresden, 
which  gave  an  idea  of  the  difficulties  encountered  a  hun- 
dred years  before.  Frederic  the  Great,  some  twenty-five 
years  later,  at  the  building  of  the  new  palace  at  Potsdam, 
established  an  atelier  for  metal  work.  Here  the  group 
of  the  three  women  supporting  a  crown,  for  the  great 
middle  dome,  was  cast,  and  also  the  Atlas  with  the  globe, 
on  the  little  cupola  of  the  council-house  in  Potsdam. 

From  France,  Rauch  received  some  data  regarding  the 
cost  of  the  work,  which  convinced  him  of  the  advantages 
of  the  new  method. 

Rauch  tried  to  bring  his  old  friend  Hopfgarten  from 
Rome  to  cast  the  Blucher  statue,  and  to  establish  a  work- 


184  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

shop  and  school  there.  But  Hopfgarten  was  averse  to 
trying  the  French  method,  maintaining  that  the  results 
from  the  old  one  were  equally  good. 

It  was  proposed  to  send  workmen  to  Russia  to  learn 
the  work,  but  as  Lequine  applied  for  the  position  of 
founder  for  the  Royal  Art  Academy  and  the  work  of  cast- 
ing the  Bliicher  statue,  this  was  judged  to  be  unnecessary. 
The  king  appointed  Lequine  to  establish  a  school  for 
founding  in  bronze,  and  for  a  yearly  stipend  of  five  hun- 
dred gulden  he  was  to  instruct  two  pupils,  to  be  selected 
by  Rauch. 

In  spite  of  Rauch's  careful  oversight  and  earnest  effort, 
this  school  was  not  wholly  successful,  and  only  one 
founder,  Kastner,  was  really  fitted  for  the  work.  Three 
learned  the  art  of  coining.  But  he  never  gave  up  his 
efforts  to  get  the  best  workmen  to  Berlin,  and  build  up 
the  foundery  there.  Hopfgarten  finally  accepted  the  new 
method,  and  came  to  Berlin,  where  he  was  engaged  on 
work  for  the  king. 

While  Rauch  was  thus  struggling  to  establish  this 
branch  of  art  industry  in  Berlin,  King  Ludwig  was  deeply 
interested  in  establishing  his  foundery,  and  the  first  prod- 
uct of  it  was  to  be  the  statue  designed  by  Rauch.  Thus 
he  came  into  direct  personal  relations  with  the  Munich 
Bronze  Foundery,  which  were  facilitated  by  his  former  in- 
terest in  Stiglmaier,  the  director  of  the  new  institute,  who 
had  been  introduced  to  him  by  Klenze  in  1824. 

Stiglmaier's  history  recalls  that  of  Benvenuto  Cellini. 
He  began  life  as  a  goldsmith,  but  soon  developed  an 
ambition  for  larger  works,  and,  having  gained  the  recom- 
mendation of  Canova,  went  to  Naples  in  order  to  study 
his  art  by  seeing  the  casting  of  Canova's  statue  of 
Charles  III.  Righetti's  kindness  allowed  him  to  see  the 
whole  process,  but  the  eager  young  man  lost  the  favor  of 
the  older  founder  by  his  zeal.  Righetti  had  a  secret 
process  of  casting.  This  was  really  no  other  than  the 


KING   LUDWIG    OF    BAVARIA  185 

before-named  "  other  process  "  of  Benvenuto  Cellini,  by 
which  the  original  model  is  preserved.  Whether  Righetti 
had  learned  it  from  Cellini,  or  had  found  it  out  for  him- 
self, he  was  not  pleased  when  Stiglmaier,  who  had  heard 
of  this  method,  but  had  not  seen  it  with  Righetti,  found 
out  all  the  technical  methods  for  himself. 

He  made  the  experiment  on  a  statuette  of  Venus,  two 
feet  high,  modelled  by  his  friend  Haller.  In  his  day-book 
he  details  with  great  minuteness  the  result  of  his  efforts. 
From  September  22  to  October  14,  1820,  was  employed 
in  preparation.  Many  unavoidable  delays  occurred,  and 
the  excitement  increased  as  the  end  drew  near.  By  some 
mistake  one  of  the  assistants  poured  his  molten  metal 
into  the  air-hole.  The  casting  was  broken  off,  and  came 
to  a  standstill.  "The  crowd  of  lookers-on,"  says  the  poor 
founder,  "  stood  first  dumb  about  me,  then  slipped  out  one 
by  one  and  left  me  alone  with  my  pain."  On  the  seventh 
of  November  a  second  casting  was  begun  and  failed. 
With  unbroken  courage  he  began  the  third  cast,  and  on 
Christmas  Eve  the  metal  was  again  poured  in.  It  ran 
into  the  mould  and  spurted  joyfully  out  at  the  airhole. 
"Our  joy  knew  no  bounds  ;  we  raised  a  loud  cry  of  joy, 
and  embraced  and  kissed  each  other.  Pasquale  the  helper 
kissed  the  head  of  Phidias  coming  out  of  the  broken  form, 
and  burnt  his  mouth,  for  it  had  not  had  time  to  cool." 

From  this  time  a  close  acquaintance  and  correspond- 
ence followed  between  Stiglmaier  and  Rauch,  not  only  in 
relation  to  artistic  matters,  but  in  friendly  intercourse. 
Rauch  writes  of  the  marriage  of  Agnes,  and  Stiglmaier 
tells  of  his  own  nuptials. 

The  account  of  the  difficulties  in  regard  to  the  Durer 
statue  with  King  Ludwig  need  not  be  repeated.  They 
sprang  from  the  king's  royal  impatience,  which  did  not  like 
to  be  opposed  even  by  the  inevitable  conditions  of  art. 
The  same  spirit  was  apparent  in  regard  to  the  work  for  the 
Walhalla,  including  the  victories;  but  although  Rauch 


186  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

was  somewhat  fettered  by  the  wishes  of  the  king,  yet  he 
was  too  grateful  to  him  for  the  splendid  opportunities 
he  had  opened  to  him  not  to  rejoice  in  all  that  he  had 
done  for  the  promotion  of  art  in  Germany.  Unfortu- 
nately, the  king's  haste  led  him  to  prefer  the  dashing, 
bold  Schwanthaler,  who,  as  Klenze  writes,  "  contents  him- 
self with  dictating  statues  and  reliefs.  The  king  knows 
that  something  is  wanting,  but  he  lets  it  go,  led  on  by 
the  same  haste  of  creation."  * 

Rauch  says  of  the  pressure  brought  to  bear  upon  him 
to  hasten  work  on  the  Victories,  "  I  was  never  in  my 
life  more  disturbed,  and  never  had  worse  hypochondriacal 
nights  than  now,  when  King  Ludwig  urges  so  hard,  and 
I  have  no  means  to  do  more  than  I  am  doing." 

King  Ludwig  offered  five  thousand  thalers  for  the  pro- 
posed Goethe  and  Schiller  group,  if  it  were  cast  at  Munich; 
but  he  differed  seriously  from  Rauch  in  regard  to  the 
costume  of  the  statue,  and  Rauch  objected  to  his  plan  of 
the  two  wreaths. 

King  Ludwig  showed  his  full  appreciation  of  Rauch  by 
the  position  he  has  given  him  in  his  great  temples  of  art. 
Kaulbach  painted  his  portrait  in  the  seventh  field  of  the 
frescoes  on  the  new  Pinakothek,  with  the  other  sculptors 
engaged  in  his  work,  and  Rauch  used  his  own  portrait  in 
the  representation  of  sculptors  on  the  relief  on  the  Max 
Joseph  monument.  Ludwig  writes  to  him,  "I  wish  to 
receive  your  best  likeness,  that  your  statue  may  be  pre- 
pared, which  I  wish  to  place,  with  six  of  the  best  sculptors 
of  my  own  time,  in  the  east  niche  of  the  Glyptothek. 
That  Rauch  should  not  fail  there,  goes  without  saying. 
Since  the  Glyptothek  is  in  antique  style,  it  follows,  of 
course,  that  the  costume  should  be  the  same  for  harmony. 
This  determines  me,  little  as  I  like  the  new  in  antique 
dress.  How  high  I  hold  you  is  known  to  you  far  better 
than  to  a  generation.  With  this  feeling,  I  am  your  most 
appreciative  Ludwig." 


KING    LUDWIG    OF    BAVARIA  187 

King  Ludwig  was  anxious  to  retain  Rauch  in  his  con- 
stant service,  and  invited  him  to  Munich.  It  was  a 
tempting  proposal,  for  Bavaria  was  then  the  kingdom  of 
art,  while  Prussia  was  still  struggling  with  poverty  and 
sorrow  ;  but  Rauch's  nature  was  essentially  loyal,  and  he 
could  not  leave  the  king  who  had  befriended  him  from 
boyhood.  The  marriage  of  his  daughter  also  made  a 
strong  tie  to  her  home,  where  he  knew  the  best  joys  of 
family  life.  We  must  rejoice  that  he  decided  to  remain 
in  Berlin,  where  he  worked  in  greater  freedom  and  with 
that  devotion  to  thorough  perfection  which  made  his 
influence  on  art  so  precious.  He  gained  from  Munich  an 
impulse  in  art,  and  to  Ludwig  we  are  indebted  for  the 
production  of  his  most  original  works;  but  we  are  not 
sorry  that  his  life  and  his  fame  belong  to  Prussia. 


188  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    KAUCH 


CHAPTER   X 

HOME  AND  FRIENDS.  — SCHOOL  AND  ATELIER 

1830-1840 

ON  May  26,  1829,  Ranch's  oldest  daughter,  Agnes,  mar- 
ried Dr.  Eduard  d' Alton,  a  son  of  the  celebrated  writer 
on  comparative  osteology,  who,  having  already  made  a 
reputation  in  Paris,  had  been  appointed  professor  of  anat- 
omy in  Berlin.  The  married  pair  remained  in  the  Lager- 
haus  in  Berlin,  while  Rauch  went  to  Munich,  and  thence 
to  Italy. 

The  birth  of  his  first  grandchild,  a  girl,  on  the  same 
day  that  he  discovered  the  ruins  of  the  fourth  temple  at 
Paestum,  was  a  great  delight  to  him.  On  his  return  home 
he  found  great  satisfaction  in  the  child ;  and  writing  to 
his  friend  Rietschel  on  the  birth  of  his  first  daughter,  he 
betrays  the  grandfatherly  feeling  by  his  anxious  injunc- 
tions to  him  in  regard  to  the  care  of  the  child.  "  Take 
care,"  he  says,  "for  the  most  anxious  watching  and  obser- 
vation of  the  child,  even  pedantic  foresight,  —  this  is  our 
earnest  prayer."  His  diary  records  all  the  little  illnesses 
and  other  slight  events  in  the  lives  of  his  grandchildren, 
and  informs  us  that  he  gave  his  granddaughter  Eugenie 
on  her  first  birthday  a  carnelian  ring,  engraved  with  two 
children's  heads.  He  expresses  his  joy  to  Lund :  "  For  you 
know,"  he  says,  "my  daughter's  well-being  makes  my 
earthly  heaven  and  my  best  refreshment  after  the  labors  of 
the  atelier."  The  little  family  was  successively  increased 
by  the  birth  of  Marie  and  Bertha,  and  then  of  Guido.  In 
1834  Professor  D'Alton  received  an  appointment  at  Halle, 


HOME    AND    FRIENDS.  —  SCHOOL    AND    ATELIER        189 

which  occasioned  the  removal  of  his  family  thither  a  little 
later.  The  separation  was  very  painful  to  Rauch.  He 
wrote  to  Rietschel,  "  In  the  spring  begins  my  solitude, 
which,  if  I  could  go  back  to  Carrara,  would  not  be  so 
heavy  as  here." 

This  change,  however,  finally  gave  him  a  new  interest ; 
for  in  1835  he  determined  to  build  a  house  in  Halle  for 
the  family,  after  his  own  ideas,  "  not  in  the  mason-and-car- 
penter  style, "  but  suited  to  home-life.  He  proposed  to 
decorate  the  house,  especially  the  interior,  and  hoped  to 
introduce  a  new  and  better  style  of  house  architecture, 
in  conformity  with  the  ideas  of  Schinkel.  This  "  D }  Alton- 
isch  Hausclien  "  was  long  a  unique  specimen  of  the  modern 
villa.  The  architect  was  Strack,  a  pupil  of  Schinkel. 
The  grounds  were  about  five  acres  in  extent,  affording 
space  for  gardens  in  both  front  and  rear,  and  the  view 
was  both  extensive  and  beautiful.  One  noble  elm  has  out- 
lived all  the  changes  the  house  has  seen.  In  December 
the  house  was  roofed  in,  young  trees  having  been  already 
planted.  At  Whitsuntide,  Rauch  saw  it  for  the  first  time, 
and  said  that  "both  house  and  garden  surpassed  his  expec- 
tations." He  found  beauty  and  convenience  united  in  an 
admirable  whole. 

Rauch  employed  himself  during  this  visit  in  modelling 
in  profile  his  three  granddaughters,  now  three  to  six  years 
old ;  Eugenie  with  braided  hair,  the  others  with  short, 
straight  locks.  They  are  charming,  simple  pictures  of 
childhood,  and  have  often  been  repeated  for  the  family. 
Later  in  the  same  year  he  modelled  Guido,  and  he  made 
use  of  these  models  in  the  decoration  of  the  staircase. 
Rauch  planned  to  decorate  the  corridor  and  staircases 
with  the  work  of  his  contemporary  artists,  Tieck,  Drake, 
etc.,  and  he  writes  to  Rietschel  begging  him  to  have  his 
profile  portrait  sketched  by  Metz,  and  to  send  him  also, 
if  possible,  a  bit  of  his  relief-work,  that  he  may  have  "you 
and  your  hand  forever  united  there."  He  says,  "  I  prepare 


LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

* 

for  myself  the  pleasantest  rest,  in  passing  my  last  days 
with  my  own  people  and  among  these  bass-reliefs,  remem- 
brances of  my  most  active  days,  and  of  the  society  of 
friends  so  dear  in  themselves.  Our  friend  Strack  exerts 
himself  with  his  fine  talent  and  our  small  means  to  care 
for  everything,  to  satisfy  our  needs  as  well  as  our  eyes." 

The  house-warming  took  place  at  Christmas.  The 
grandfather  and  his  daughter  Doris  and  the  four  children 
made  the  winter  journey,  passing  two  nights  on  the  way, 
and  Agnes  and  Eduard  received  them  with  tears  of  joy 
in  the  brilliantly  lighted  house. 

Almost  every  year  Rauch  made  two  visits  to  Halle,  in 
spring  and  autumn,  until  the  opening  of  the  railroad 
shortened  the  time  of  the  journey,  so  that  frequent  re- 
unions with  the  growing  family  were  possible.  He  took 
pleasure  in  the  care  of  the  gardens,  and  especially  in 
what  he  called  his  "  Wandstammbuches,"  or  collection 
of  bass-reliefs  on  the  walls.  These  were  plastic  memen- 
toes of  the  present  and  the  past  time,  a  mingling  of 
fragments,  sketches,  and  finished  work  in  an  album-like 
manner,  the  large  and  the  little  mixed  in  pleasing  confu- 
sion. The  collection  of  sixty  pieces  first  planned  was 
afterwards  more  than  doubled.  The  setting  of  these  re- 
liefs began  about  six  feet  from  the  floor,  and  sometimes 
reached  the  ceiling.  He  was  eager  to  fill  up  every  blank 
spot  with  portraits  of  his  friends,  especially  of  artists. 
Rietschel  holds  an  honored  place  as  a  mark  of  old  and 
tender  friendship.  Rauch  tried  to  keep  some  symmetry 
in  the  arrangement,  and  therefore  sends  exact  measure- 
ments for  portraits  which  he  wishes  to  place  in  relation 
with  his  own  or  others. 

The  spaces  between  the  reliefs  were  filled  with  Pom- 
peian  colors,  and  Wach  painted  the  figures  and  decorations 
which  were  to  unite  them. 

The  D'Alton  family  often  visited  their  grandfather  in 
Berlin,  the  children  staying  with  their  Aunt  Doris,  under 


HOME    AND    FRIENDS. SCHOOL    AND    ATELIER        IQI 

the  care  of  Fraulein  Lieberkuhn,  the  good  house-dame 
who  had  been  so  long  with  them.  The  grandfather  did 
not  fail  to  enforce  his  principles  of  education.  His  great 
motto  was,  "  Poverty  is  a  blessing  ;  it  rouses  us  to  self- 
reliance,  to  activity,  to  independent  thought."  Even  with 
the  children  he  suffered  no  idle  lingering :  they  must  busy 
themselves  with  something.  The  utmost  which  he  al- 
lowed was,  that  they  might  sit  as  quiet  observers  of  the 
work,  of  whose  worth  and  meaning  they  might  thus  learn 
to  think  ;  a  permission  of  which  they  respectfully  availed 
themselves.  The  parents  came  regularly  at  Christmas- 
time, thus  uniting  that  festival  with  Rauch's  birthday  on 
the  second  of  January,  when  he  was  accustomed  to  gather 
his  Berlin  friends  to  meet  his  family.  The  grandchildren 
took  part  in  this  festivity,  playing  duets  for  their  sixty- 
one-years-old  birthday-child. 

Rauch  had  but  few  relations,  and  had  not  seen  them 
since  the  death  of  his  cousin  Dr.  Mundhenck  ;  but  he  cor- 
responded kindly  with  those  who  remained,  and  sent  them 
money  according  to  their  needs.  Some  of  his  country 
friends  sent  him  the  home-made  sausages  dear  to  his 
German  heart,  while  Frau  Engelhardt  added  the  pickled 
brawn,  of  which  he  was  fond.  Rauch  could  always  add  to 
his  thanks  the  remark  that  the  contents  of  the  packages 
were  consumed  in  health  and  enjoyment  with  friends  and 
fellow-laborers.  According  to  his  frequent  expressions, 
these  years  were  the  most  healthy  of  his  life  ;  his  attacks 
of  headache  constantly  decreased,  and  only  occasional  re- 
currence of  pain  made  summer  journeys  to  Aix  necessary. 

On  one  of  these  journeys  he  made  a  long  stay  in  Mu- 
nich, on  account  of  the  works  in  process  for  the  Walhalla. 

His  journey  by  Darmstadt,  Bonn,  etc.,  was  full  of  interest, 
giving  him  the  opportunity  of  seeing  Schepeler's  fine  col- 
lection of  Spanish  pictures,  which  he  compared  with  those 
of  Marshal  Soult  in  Paris. 

Herr  Schepeler  was  his  companion  at  Aix  in  his  walks 


LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

and  observations.  Rauch's  eager  desire  for  knowledge 
always  led  him  to  inspect  industries  as  well  as  works  of 
art;  so  he  visited  cloth-factories,  coal-mines,  and  great 
elevators,  and  a  steam-engine  of  one  hundred  and  twenty 
horse-power,  and  did  not  fail  to  observe  with  human 
interest  the  condition  of  the  work-people. 

On  his  return  he  gave  a  glance  at  Diasseldorf,  and  was 
much  impressed  by  Lessing,  then  a  young  man  of  thirty- 
one,  whose  first  fresco,  the  battle  of  Iconium,  he  much 
admired.  Rauch  kept  a  note-book  with  careful  details  of 
routes  ;  and  his  habits  of  method  and  order  on  his  journeys, 
as  everywhere  else,  enabled  him  to  accomplish  a  great  deal 
in  a  short  time. 

He  gained  strength  from  his  journey ;  but  the  sciatic 
pains  returned  the  next  year  with  so  much  severity  that  he 
repeated  the  experiment,  but  the  weather  was  so  bad  that 
he  said  "  that  on  the  whole  he  returned  worse  than  he 
went,  a  distressing  result  for  so  much  loss  of  expense  and 
time."  The  final  conclusion  was  more  satisfactory,  how- 
ever;  for  after  these  pains  had  passed,  another  journey 
was  not  necessary. 

His  next  journey  was  purely  one  of  pleasure.  He  had 
long  held  the  kindest  relations  with  the  brother  of  Queen 
Louise,  the  Duke  of  Mechlenburg-Strelitz,  ever  since  the 
time  when  the  young  duke  had  gone  on  his  tour  of  study 
to  Rome,  with  Rauch  as  his  artistic  guide.  The  duke 
now  recommends  to  Rauch  young  Wolff  as  a  pupil,  and 
Rauch's  answer  gives  us  a  fine  idea  of  his  plan  of  education 
for  an  artist.  The  duke's  letters  are  full  of  affectionate 
remembrance  of  his  early  intimacy  with  Rauch,  and  of 
recommendations  of  this  young  aspirant  to  art. 

Rauch  answers  after  the  usual  compliments,  saying, — 

"  I  can  only  repeat  how  dangerous  it  is  for  a  young  man  destined  to  the 
pursuit  of  art  to  begin  his  life-course  with  studying  its  theory,  instead  of 
practising  the  technique  of  eye  and  hand,  in  which  the  greatest  part  of  sculp- 
ture consists,  and  with  which  as  a  last  resource  the  most  necessary  means 
of  subsistence  can  be  gained. 


HOME    AND    FRIENDS. SCHOOL    AND    ATELIER         193 

"  On  this  account  I  advise  placing  the  young  Wolff  with  a  sculptor  with 
whom  he  may  pass  four  or  five  years,  not  as  a  student,  but  as  an  apprentice, 
reserving  two  half-days  in  the  week  for  visiting  the  academy  for  instruction 
in  drawing.  Evenings  and  Sundays  he  can  consecrate  wholly  to  the  study 
of  art. 

"  If  there  is  a  true  impulse  and  vocation  for  art,  it  will  show  itself  clearly 
in  the  years  so  spent ;  if  it  does  not  exist,  he  will  remain,  with  the  technique, 
a  skilful  workman,  having  a  well-paid  and  honorable  existence,  of  which 
in  our  modern  times  there  is  great  need ;  for  the  world  swarms  with  sighing, 
lazy  young  artists  wandering  about,  burdening  their  parents  and  the  state." 

Young  Wolff,  and  amother  pupil  recommended  by  the 
duke,  proved  very  able  scholars.  Rauch  took  them  to  his 
studio,  and  on  Sunday  to  his  table,  and  the  duke  was  de- 
lighted with  their  progress.  Rauch  made  repeated  visits 
to  the  duke,  and  modelled  many  busts,  among  them  those 
of  the  Duke  and  Duchess  of  Cambridge.  The  society 
was  delightful,  and  much  time  was  spent  in  excursions  by 
water  and  land.  A  favorite  amusement  was  found  in  per- 
forming living  tableaux,  in  one  of  which  Rauch  figured  as 
the  Father  in  Bendemann's  picture  of  "  The  Mourning 
Jews." 

At  a  later  visit  to  the  duke,  Rauch  had  much  pleasure 
in  the  society  of  some  of  the  court-dames,  especially  with 
Fraulein  Dewitz,  in  whom  he  found  much  artistic  sym- 
pathy. She  sent  him  the  second  part  of  "  Faust,"  which 
took  possession  of  his  whole  soul,  although,  as  he  says, 
"  without  being  able  to  follow  the  bold  flight  of  this  world- 
soul  who  belongs  to  the  race  of  Titans,"  and  so  he 
reads  again  this  "  Helena-jagd "  from  the  beginning.  In- 
vitations from  the  duke,  accompanied  by  kind  words 
from  these  gracious  ladies,  are  more  frequent  than  the 
busy  artist  can  accept,  and  he  answers  that  the  "hard, 
weighty  must  is  more  powerful  than  the  will."  But  in 
the  hot  days  of  July  he  is  again  there,  and  they  find 
relief  and  refreshment  in  excursions  to  Hohenzieritz. 
At  this  time  Rauch  places  the  bust  of  Queen  Louise  in 
the  room  where  she  died.  "  It  is  the  most  beautiful  mar- 
ble that  I  have  ever  worked,"  he  wrote. 


194  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

This  pleasant  interchange  of  thought  and  letters  con- 
tinued until  Fraulein  Dewitz  became  the  wife  of  Von 
Bernstoff,  the  minister  of  state,  in  1845,  when  Rauch 
wrote,  "  I  need  not  describe  to  you  how  happy  the  union 
of  our  dear  friend  the  Fraulein  Augusta  has  made  me." 
The  pleasant  friendship  continued  unchanged. 

Another  old  friend  of  the  Roman  days,  Alexander  von 
Rennenkampf,  who  had  long  been  a  member  of  Alexan- 
der von  Humboldt's  household,  now  recalled  himself 
to  Rauch's  remembrance.  A  correspondence  full  of 
interest  followed.  Rauch  waited  a  year  to  answer  his 
first  letter,  that  he  might  send  him  full  particulars  of  him- 
self and  his  work.  Out  of  this  correspondence  grew 
Rauch's  interest  in  the  nuptials  of  the  young  King  Otho 
of  Greece,  and  the  re-opening  of  the  Penthelicon  marble- 
quarries,  with  the  suggestion  of  what  an  inspiration  it 
would  be  to  make  a  lovely  statue  of  the  same  marble  in 
which  Phidias  and  Praxiteles  wrought. 

One  incident  of  this  friendship  was  the  visit  to  Rauch's 
atelier  of  Rennenkampf's  twelve-year-old  daughter,  who 
writes,  "  I  have  been  with  my  aunt  to  your  friend  Rauch's. 
What  an  artistic  man  he  is !  with  his  splendid  statues  and 
his  gray  hair,  —  a  fine  old  man!  I  like  him  awfully! 
(IcJi  habe  ihm  schrecklich  gern  an  !  ") 

Two  blocks  of  Greek  marble  reached  Rauch's  workshop 
in  1838;  and  he  writes  thus  to  his  friend,  "Now  look  at 
me,  dear  friend  :  I  bend  my  broad  back  deep  down  into  a 
right  angle  ;  both  arms  sink  perpendicularly  to  the  ground, 
and  lips  and  fingers  tingle  with  pure  gratitude  ;  and  now 
having  risen  up  you  meet  a  stream,  yea,  a  waterfall,  of 
resounding  words  of  warmest  thanks  for  two  blocks  of 
marble  from  the  holy  Penthelicon,  which  by  your  sugges- 
tion and  the  great  distinguishing  favor  of  King  Otho 
have  come  into  my  atelier.  One  shall  be  used  for  an 
ideal  head  which  I  shall  begin  in  a  few  days.  For  the 
larger  one  I  will  make  a  statue  four  feet  high.  I  am 


HOME    AND    FRIENDS. SCHOOL    AND    ATELIER        195 

very  proud  of  this  royal  present,  since  it  is  the  first 
Athenian  sculptors'  marble  which  has  come  here  for  cen- 
turies. But  it  will  also  excite  me  to  lay  my  hand  upon  it. 
This  marble  appears  to  me  to  have  different  life-sap  from 
that  which  is  quarried  at  Carrara." 

Out  of  the  smaller  block  Rauch  worked  a  Victory  in 
1843,  and  offered  it  to  King  Friedrich  Wilhelm  IV.  It 
bears  the  inscription,  "  Gebrochen,  1838,  am  Pentelikon. 
C.  R.  fee.,  1843."  It  stands  now  in  the  red-silk  saloon  in 
the  castle  of  that  king  in  Berlin.  The  head  is  taken 
essentially  from  the  second  of  the  Victories  made  for  the 
Walhalla. 

On  the  death  of  Prince  Radziwill,  Dr.  Eggers  remarks 
that  he  was  the  only  person  who  called  out  any  love  of 
music  in  Rauch.  This  art  had  too  little  of  the  plastic 
character  to  interest  him  fully.  He  became  conscious  of 
its  artistic  value  only  when  it  was  united  with  dramatic 
expression.  When  he  on  a  Sunday  dined  with  the  prince, 
with  Schinkel,  Beuth,  Wach,  and  Tieck,  and  single  scenes 
from  Goethe's  "  Faust "  were  given  with  only  the  accom- 
paniment of  the  piano  and  violoncello,  Rauch  remarked, 
"  This  true,  noble  beauty  in  such  a  simple  setting  has  taken 
hold  of  me  wonderfully."  The  new  musical  influence 
which  came  in  with  the  romantic  tendency  of  the  young 
Mendelssohn  went  through  circles  with  which  Rauch  had 
no  affinity.  It  was  the  same  in  literature  ;  the  new  politi- 
cally colored  romances  had  no  attraction  for  him.  Only 
Immermann  was  sympathetic  to  him,  and  that  more  from 
his  personal  acquaintance  than  from  his  writings.  He 
sent  his  collected  works  to  Rauch,  which  were  allowed  a 
place  beside  the  translation  of  the  romances  of  "  Boz  "  1 
in  his  library.  Except  these  no  romances  had  a  charm 
for  him.  Goethe,  Shakspeare,  Burger,  Korner  ;  and  out  of 
the  antique  world  ^Eschylus,  Sophocles,  and  Ovid,  repre- 
sent the  national  literatures.  History  had  its  place  in  the 

i  Dickens. 


196  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

collection,  —  Plutarch's  Lives,  Becker's  World  History,  and 
later  Ranke's  History  and  a  number  of  special  histories, 
particularly  that  of  Prussia  and  her  military  affairs,  found 
place.  But  science  and  archaeology  were  represented  in 
illustrated  works  and  innumerable  maps,  with  more  than 
a  thousand  sheets  of  illustrations  of  ancient  and  modern 
art,  ornamentation,  landscape,  portraits,  and  anatomy,  as 
well  as  a  collection  of  original  drawings.  He  also  took  a 
deep  personal  interest  in  the  work  of  Franz  Kugler  in 
the  history  of  art. 

Rauch's  social  life  was  rich  and  gay.  His  presence 
was  very  welcome  at  court,  and  he  took  part  in  all  festiv- 
ities, and  in  theatricals  and  tableaux.  He  was  interested 
in  the  representations  of  Wallenstein's  camp,  and  the 
meeting  of  Richard  and  Saladin,  with  their  rich  costumes. 
All  new  works  of  art  were  freely  discussed.  Next  per- 
haps to  Schinkel,  Rauch  was  the  favorite  of  this  circle. 
Science  could  not  be  neglected  in  a  company  of  which 
Humboldt  was  a  member ;  and  among  many  new  discov- 
eries discussed  was  the  newly  invented  daguerrotype,  of 
which  Humboldt  gave  a  full  explanation.  In  the  summer 
months  Rauch  often  visited  the  royal  residences  of  Sans- 
Souci  and  Charlottenhof ;  but,  while  he  enjoyed  this  social 
gayety,  he  always  returned  with  delight  and  fresh  vigor  to 
his  school  and  his  work. 

The  old  age  of  his  master  Schadow  was  duly  honored. 
He  had  laid  down  the  chisel,  and  as  director  of  the  acad- 
emy served  the  cause  of  art  with  his  pen.  Shortly  be- 
fore his  seventieth  birthday  his  celebrated  "  Polyklet " 
was  published  ;  and  on  that  day,  in  May,  1834,  Rauch 
greeted  him  in  the  name  of  the  Academic  Senate,  and 
presented  him  with  a  medal. 

Four  years  later  his  fifty-years'  connection  with  the 
academy  was  fitly  celebrated.  The  venerable  master  re- 
ceived calls  from  seven  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  was 
bright  and  happy  at  the  evening  feast. 


HOME    AND    FRIENDS. SCHOOL    AND    ATELIER        197 

Another  of  his  oldest  friends,  the  great  architect  Schin- 
kel,  had  been  suddenly  attacked  with  illness,  accompa- 
nied with  difficulty  of  speech,  in  1838  ;  but  for  two  years, 
by  occasional  resort  to  curative  baths,  he  had  maintained 
his  literary  activity.  On  the  tenth  of  September,  1841, 
he  visited  Rauch's  atelier,  two  days  after  his  return  from 
a  journey  to  a  "  Cur,"  apparently  in  better  health  than 
when  he  left  Berlin.  He  complained  only  that  he  saw 
everything  double,  and  in  rainbow  colors.  As  Rauch 
went  to  return  his  call  on  the  eleventh,  he  learned  to  his 
dismay  that  he  was  speechless  and  senseless  from  palsy. 
Most  feelingly  Rauch  notes  in  his  diary  the  progress  of 
the  disease,  and  the  close  of  the  life  of  his  true  friend  of 
forty  years,  whose  course  was  so  glorious  for  art,  and 
who  was  unequalled  as  a  man  and  a  friend. 

The  castle  of  Tegel,  the  residence  of  the  minister 
Wilhelm  von  Humboldt,  was  always  one  of  Rauch's 
happiest  homes.  It  was  built  by  Schinkel,  and  he  him- 
self aided  largely  in  its  decoration.  In  a  letter  to  Frau 
von  Humboldt  he  says,  "Tegel  looks  like  a  marble  altar 
set  in  green."  It  was  full  of  beautiful  works  of  art,  some 
of  them  antiques  which  Rauch  had  restored,  and  others 
of  his  own  designs.  He  finished  with  his  own  hand  the 
marble  bust  of  the  lovely  grandchild,  Therese  von  Biilow, 
who  had  died  at  twelve  years  of  age.  Frau  von  Humboldt 
was  his  dear  and  constant  friend,  looking  after  his  physi- 
cal comfort  when  he  was  with  her,  and  when  he  was  ab- 
sent writing  constantly  to  him,  even  from  a  sick-bed,  and 
taking  the  deepest  interest  in  all  his  artistic  plans. 

Not  less  constant  and  friendly  was  his  correspondence 
with  her  husband.  Humboldt's  letters  are  full  of  artistic 
news ;  and  from  London  he  writes  that  the  king  wishes 
him  to  sit  to  Lawrence  for  his  portrait,  and  he  tells  of  the 
palaces  that  are  building,  and  of  the  statues  ordered  from 
Westmacott,  Bailey,  Chantrey,  and  others. 

We  can  hardly  imagine  a  happier  and  more  beautiful 


198  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

life  of  art  and  culture  than  existed  under  this  friendly 
roof.  It  was  only  saddened  by  the  illness  of  its  beloved 
mistress,  "which  brought  general  mourning  into  the 
house." 

Before  this  irreparable  loss  took  place  Rauch  had  al- 
ready formed  a  close  friendship  with  the  distinguished 
brother,  Alexander  von  Humboldt.  He  had  long  been 
interested  in  Rauch,  who  had  modelled  his  bust ;  but  when 
he  returned  from  his  celebrated  journey  to  America,  and 
took  up  his  residence  in  Berlin,  the  intimacy  grew  closer, 
and  the  sculptor  was  included  in  that  circle  of  the  finest 
minds  of  Germany,  to  whom  he  expounded  his  grand  views 
of  the  Cosmos.  The  delighted  listeners  wished  to  present 
to  Humboldt  a  medal  to  "commemorate  this  feast  of 
thought."  It  should,  according  to  Leopold  von  Buch, 
"express  that  Humboldt  had  first  brought  a  soul  into  the 
face  of  the  world,  and  had  exercised  such  beneficent  in- 
fluence over  the  earth  as  no  mortal  had  ever  done  before 
him,  unveiling  one  half  of  the  globe  to  the  other  half." 

On  one  side  of  the  memorial  was  a  spirited  portrait  in 
profile,  with  the  inscription:  — 

ALEXANDER   AB   HUMBOLDT. 

•executed  by  Tieck  ;  the  reverse  was  an  allegorical  repre- 
sentation by  Rauch. 

Apollo  surrounded  by  beams  of  light  comes  with  his 
four  span  out  of  the  background  towards  the  spectator. 
Under  the  horses  is  arched  the  zodiac  with  its  signs :  the 
land  and  the  water  are  represented  by  two  reclining  fig- 
ures turned  towards  each  other ;  the  one  on  the  right  a 
bearded  man  with  an  urn  of  water  and  an  oar,  and  near 
him  the  head  of  a  sea-monster ;  and  on  the  left  a  female 
figure  with  a  horn  of  plenty,  near  which  a  lion  rests.  The 
circle  of  beams  about  Apollo  is  surmounted  by  the  in- 
scription:— 

ILLUSTRANS  TOTUM  RADIIS  FULGENTIBUS  ORBEM. 


HOME    AND    FRIENDS. SCHOOL    AND    ATELIER        199 

Humboldt  expressed  his  thanks  to  Rauch  in  writing, 
adding,  "After  such  a  comparison  there  is  nothing  left  but 
to  die." 

Rauch  often  met  Humboldt  at  Tegel,  and  he  never  for- 
got one  beautiful  Sunday  morning  in  May.  Wandering 
for  hours  in  the  open  air  with  his  friend,  he  listened  to  his 
speech  with  that  feeling  of  perfect  accord  that  we  feel 
only  in  the  enjoyment  of  nature  with  a  kindred  soul. 
Rauch  writes  in  his  journal,  "Would  I  could  give  to  every 
friend  such  enjoyment!  I  believe  I  could  wish  for  them 
nothing  more  splendid  than  to  hear  the  discourse  of  this 
man,  who  carries  the  creation  of  the  world  in  his  own 
mind,  and  has  the  talent  to  give  it  back  to  us  all  har- 
monized and  made  clear."  Rauch  assisted  in  the  prepara- 
tion of  the  funeral  monument  for  Frau  von  Humboldt, 
and  during  his  visit  in  Rome  he  procured  statues  to  fill 
the  niches  on  the  outside  of  the  palace.  Wilhelm  von 
Humboldt's  greatest  pleasure  seemed  to  lie  in  the  com- 
pletion of  his  wife's  favorite  residence.  When  Rauch 
visited  him  in  1833  he  found  him  visibly  failing  in  health, 
and  the  next  April  he  mourned  the  death  of  this  friend  of 
forty  years.  He  describes  his  going  to  Tegel  to  visit  his 
sick  friend,  accompanied  by  Wach  :  "  On  leaving  we  went," 
he  says,  "into  the  alley  to  walk  to  our  carriages.  Alex- 
ander went  with  us  :  from  the  height  of  the  trellis  they 
called  to  him,  and  we  feared  the  worst.  He  wished  to 
hasten,  and  he  could  not ;  he  must  stand  still  to  gain 
strength  to  take  the  next  step.  This  was  also  a  grief, 
to  see  this  strong,  vigorous  body  and  mind  bowed  down. 
The  minister  Wilhelm  von  Humboldt  departed  at  this 
moment,  six  o'clock  in  the  evening.  Earlier  he  was  my 
dearest  support,  my  all;  later,  the  most  sympathizing 
friend,  even  to  the  last."  He  then  recalls  how  tenderly 
Humboldt  always  treated  him,  when  he  felt  so  keenly  the 
deficiency  of  his  early  education,  and  was  troubled  to  ap- 
proach so  nearly  to  such  an  exalted  personage.  "Hum- 


2OO  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

boldt  was  always  friendly,  indirectly  forbearing,  correcting; 
never  did  I  experience  a  mortification  from  him.  His 
brother  came  that  summer  with  Parisian  friends  from 
America,  and  I  remember  my  astonishment  over  every- 
thing which  I  saw  and  heard  every  hour ;  in  the  room,  as 
in  the  open  air,  in  the  collections,  or  on  the  old  walls,  and 
how  much  I  wished  to  learn  from  it  all,  if  my  capacity  of 
reception  had  allowed  it.  I  enjoyed  from  that  time  even 
to  the  present,  without  interruption,  the  favor  and  friend- 
ship of  this  distinguished  man  and  his  family." 

It  would  be  hard  to  imagine  a  greater  blessing  for  a 
young  student  than  the  friendship  of  such  a  man  as  Wil- 
helm  von  Humboldt,  and  the  privilege  of  sharing  the 
home  of  such  a  woman  as  his  wife.  It  is  one  of  the  most 
delightful  pictures  of  noble  public  service  combined  with 
domestic  happiness  that  we  find  in  history. 

During  the  last  year  of  his  life  Rauch's  diary  contains 
frequent  notices  of  meetings  with  his  friend  Alexander 
von  Humboldt,  who  survived  him  a  year  and  a  half. 

Wilhelm  von  Humboldt  was  never  forgotten  by  Rauch, 
as  he  wrote  to  Rennenkampf  in  1835,  and  he  loved  to  linger, 
about  Tegel,  where  he  had  enjoyed  such  happy  intercourse 
with  him  and  his  family.  Two  years  later  Alexander  von 
Humboldt  wrote  him,  inviting  him  to  pass  his  sixty-eighth 
birthday  with  him,  saying,  "Since  my  brother's  death  you 
are  to  me  the  most  refreshing,  most  charming  presence 
in  this  world,  which  has  now  become  almost  a  desert 
to  me." 

Wilhelm's  oldest  daughter,  Caroline,  had  retained  her 
home  at  Tegel ;  but  after  living  there  about  two  years, 
ill  health  obliged  her  to  go  to  Berlin,  where  Rauch  visited 
her,  and  when  leaving  her,  he  was  struck  with  dismay  by 
the  emaciated  hand  which  she  reached  to  him  from  be- 
neath the  beautiful  silken  covering.  She  saw  his  look,  and 
smiling  turned  to  a  picture  of  the  young  Humboldt  girls, 
saying,  "  Such  was  Fraulein  Caroline's  once  plump  hand, 


HOME    AND    FRIENDS. SCHOOL    AND    ATELIER        2OI 

and  now  she  reaches  it  to  you  in  this  state."  Two  weeks 
later  Rauch  went  with  her  uncle  to  Tegel  to  her  burial. 

In  its  fourth  decade,  what  may  fitly  be  called  the 
"Berlin  school  of  plastic  art"  was  still  living.  Dr.  Eg- 
gers  counts  among  the  products  of  this  school  not  only 
those  artists  who  had  grown  immediately  out  of  Rauch's 
school  and  his  leadership,  but  also  those  who,  although 
working  independently,  were  yet  inspired  by  his  spirit,  — 
Tieck,  Wichmann,  and  their  followers  ;  for  their  nearness 
to  Rauch,  and  the  weight  of  his  mind  and  character, 
had  opened  to  them  the  same  wide  range  in  which  he 
worked. 

It  is  not  strange,  however,  that  an  artist  of  such  a 
decided  character,  and  so  frank  in  his  expression  of  both 
praise  and  blame,  and  at  the  same  time  so  remarkably 
successful  in  his  career,  so  favored  by  the  court,  as  well 
as  beloved  by  the  people,  and  so  prominently  before  the 
public,  should  have  encountered  some  enmity,  springing 
from  rivalry  and  jealousy.  The  course  of  his  life,  as  it 
has  been  traced  for  us  from  most  ample  sources  in  his 
private  diary  and  letters,  shows  him  to  have  been  capable 
of  the  warmest  friendship  and  most  generous  appreciation 
both  for  his  compeers  in  art,  and  for  those  who  sought  his 
instruction.  His  life  affords  one  of  the  most  charming 
pictures  of  social  life  to  be  found  in  the  history  of  artists ; 
but, 

"  Be  thou  pure  as  ice,  as  chaste  as  snow, 
Thou  shalt  not  escape  calumny." 

Accordingly,  murmurs  arose  of  his  engrossing  an  undue 
share  of  work  and  public  fame,  to  the  neglect  of  other 
artists  of  equal  merit.  Many  of  those  whose  talent  he 
did  not  rate  as  high  as  their  own  estimate,  and,  still  more 
strangely,  some  even  of  those  whom  he  warmly  appre- 
ciated, have  thought  that  he  stood  in  their  way,  instead  of 
giving  them  assistance.  The  expression  of  this  feeling 
has  found  its  way  into  the  artistic  literature  of  his  time 


2O2  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

and  country.  Let  us  look  the  charges  fairly  in  the  face, 
and  see  what  ground  we  can  find  for  them. 

Rauch,  it  is  said,  wished  to  bring  all  the  work  of  his 
own  time  into  his  own  atelier ;  he  seized  it  as  much  as 
possible  for  himself,  even  snatching  it  out  of  the  hands  of 
others.  He  did  not  suffer  any  one  to  come  near  him,  and 
had  not  that  friendliness  with  his  scholars  that  Thorwald- 
sen  had,  who,  without  grudging,  gave  them  his  works  to 
execute ;  especially  he  was  jealous  of  every  budding 
genius,  if  it  threatened  to  surpass  his  own.  Such  talent 
had  appeared  in  his  lifetime  (and  here  before  all  Riet- 
schel  is  named),  and  the  superiority  became  so  un- 
questioned after  his  death,  that  his  artistic  position  has 
to  be  considered  as  entirely  surpassed  by  that  of  others. 

Dr.  Eggers  says,  "  So  many  complaints,  so  many  errors 
about  Rauch."  The  question  about  his  final  position  in 
art  he  considers  later ;  now  Rauch's  personal  relations  to 
his  school  are  to  be  considered.  He  has  been  compared 
disadvantageously  with  Thorwaldsen  ;  he  might  have  been 
contrasted  with  Schwanthaler,  whose  greed  and  jealousy 
were  notorious,  yet  interesting  anecdotes  can  be  given  of 
Schwanthaler's  generosity  ;  and  Thorwaldsen  took  away 
the  work  on  the  Frauenkirche,  even  after  the  contract 
was  made  to  secure  it  for  his  own  pupils.  In  fact,  the 
desire  to  secure  great  works  for  his  own  atelier  is  a 
natural  one,  by  which  all  are  influenced.  Competition  is 
a  stimulus  in  art  as  well  as  in  commerce.  As  Goethe 
said,  "  Mastership  often  passes  for  egotism."  The  mas- 
ter has  a  right  to  do  what  he  can  do  better  than  others. 
True  artists  know  the  difference  between  this  genuine 
effort  for  recognition  and  jealous  envy  of  others'  success. 
Surely,  Rauch's  whole  relations  with  Thorwaldsen,  Tieck, 
and  especially  Rietschel,  show  how  far  he  was  from  any 
such  mean  jealousy,  and  how  he  rejoiced  in  their  merit 
and  success.  We  have  Rietschel's  own  testimony  in  his 
youthful  recollections. 


HOME    AND    FRIENDS. SCHOOL    AND    ATELIER        20$ 

Rauch's  own  letters  and  diaries  are  rilled  with  notices 
of  his  fellow  artists  and  pupils.  He  writes  of  them  to 
Wolff,  to  Rennenkampf,  and  specially  to  Rietschel,  and 
keeps  his  distant  friends  acquainted  with  all  the  person- 
alities of  his  atelier.  When  he  saw  in  Rome  one  of  his 
most  distinguished  scholars,  August  Wredow,  who  was  for 
thirty  years  in  his  atelier,  he  writes, "  Wredow's  statue 
of  Ganymede  is  one  of  the  finest  and  best-finished 
in  Rome."  He  speaks  in  the  same  strain  of  high 
commendation  of  both  Emil  and  Albert  Wolff,  of  Kiss, 
Berges,  and  Drake.  After  speaking  in  praise  of  Kalide's 
work,  he  adds,  "  His  moral  purity  makes  me  prize  him 
still  higher,  both  as  a  man  and  an  artist."  He  mourns  for 
Drake's  sickness  as  involving  the  loss  of  such  an  excel- 
lent artist,  a  born  sculptor,  the  only  friend  in  the  atelier 
whom  I  can  trust  and  also  find  an  answer  from.  Wredow 
is  one  whom  he  is  accused  of  throwing  into  the  shade ; 
but  he  writes,  "Wredow's  model  of  the  Paris  statue  is 
one  of  the  finest  statues  of  the  last  thirty  years.  Neither 
Thorwalclsen  nor  Canova  have  made  one  equal  to  it." 
But  why  multiply  instances  of  a  disposition  which  is  so 
evident  in  all  his  life  ? 

But  was  there  not  some  ground  for  this  tradition  ? 
Rauch  did  not  lavish  praise  on  crude,  unfinished  work, 
however  promising  ;  he  was  exacting  of  thorough  work 
from  himself  and  from  his  pupils,  and  was  equally  ready 
to  give  full,  appreciative  criticism  as  soon  as  the  pupil 
gave  signs  of  capacity  for  real  mastership  in  art.  So  he 
watched  carefully  the  early  work  of  Kiss,  and  gladly 
acknowledged  his  ability  when  he  began  to  produce  the 
works  that  have  since  given  him  fame.  He  speaks  en- 
thusiastically of  his  "  Amazon  Tamer,"  even  in  the  first 
sketch  and  model,  and  in  his  note-book  he  follows  every 
step  of  its  progress  to  the  successful  public  exhibition, 
when  it  so  pleased  not  only  the  artists  but  the  public,  that 
the  Lagerhaus  could  not  contain  the  numbers  that  flocked 
to  see  it. 


2O4  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

Five  years  before,  Rauch  had  made  a  sketch  of  a 
fighting  lion,  which  he  now  put  into  the  hands  of  his 
pupil  Albert  Wolff,  with  whom  he  worked  it  over  and 
sent  it  to  the  king,  and  finally,  in  1849,  after  Wolff  had 
made  seven  different  sketches,  he  gave  it  wholly  up  to 
him.  The  king  was  not  willing  to  give  the  execution  to 
Wolff  until  he  had  again  seen  Rauch's  original  drawing  ; 
but  to  Ranch's  satisfaction  he  decided  for  Wolff's  last 
sketch. 

Similar  proof  is  given  by  Rauch's  relations  to  Rietschel 
and  Drake,  for  thirty  years  his  dearest  scholars.  He  was 
greatly  interested  in  the  commission  to  Rietschel  for 
the  monument  to  Moser  in  Osnabruck,  and  to  the  King 
Frederic  Augustus  for  Dresden.  By  Rauch's  advice 
Rietschel  made  his  journey  to  Rome  before  beginning 
this  work,  he  having  a  commission  to  make  a  new  model 
of  the  king's  statue  under  the  eyes  of  the  artists  of 
Rome,  especially  Thorwaldsen.  But  Rauch  counselled 
him  during  his  short  stay  in  Rome  to  make  nothing  new 
of  his  own,  but  to  study  the  works  of  others,  making 
sketches  of  what  interested  him  ;  and  he  advised  him  not 
to  begin  a  new  model  of  the  king's  statue,  but  only  to 
make  retouches  on  a  cast,  "  In  which  I  hope  you  will 
have  the  advantage  of  Thorwaldsen's  counsel,  and  gladly 
remember  it  all  in  the  life-sized  model."  He  followed  this 
work  with  a  constant  interest,  which  changed  the  pupil 
into  an  equal  brother  in  art. 

Rietschel  was  soon  after  appointed  professor  in  the 
Academy  of  Art  in  Dresden,  and  he  writes  freely  to  his 
old  master  of  the  difficulties  he  anticipates  in  his  new 
position,  and  adds,  "  How  gladly  would  I  personally  share 
my  work  with  you,  look  at  my  work  with  your  eyes,  and 
hear  strong  blame  and  good  counsel  from  your  mouth ! " 
He  dwells  on  his  lack  of  good  criticism,  saying  that  of 
painters  is  the  most  useless  of  all.  In  this  love  of  strict 
criticism  we  probably  find  the  secret  of  Rauch's  unpopu- 


HOME    AND    FRIENDS. SCHOOL    AND    ATELIER        2O5 

larity  with  pupils,  so  far  as  there  is  any  truth  in  it.  He 
was  undoubtedly  a  strict  and  even  severe  master,  and 
those  who  could  not  be  as  grateful  for  his  strong  blame 
as  for  his  good  counsel  and  generous  praise  turned  away 
from  him. 

Another  charge  against  him  is  part  of  the  heated  con- 
troversy then  going  on  between  realists  and  classicists. 
It  is  said  that  he  did  not  give  sufficient  detail  in  his 
drapery,  but  only  generalized  folds.  His  classic  taste 
might  well  lead  him  in  this  direction,  but  he  never  fol- 
lowed it  without  careful  study  of  his  subject  and  of  the 
material  he  intended  to  represent  ;  and  if  the  realistic 
feeling  of  drapery  is  overlooked,  it  is  because  he  is  seek- 
ing to  bring  out  more  important  meanings.  He  says,  — 

"  Do  away  with  all  superfluous  folds  :  marble  cannot 
endure  them,  much  less  opaque  bronze."  He  was  much 
interested  in  bronze  casting,  and  has  high  praise  for  the 
founder  Fischer. 

Rauch  counselled  Rietschel  not  to  accept  the  offers  of 
King  Ludwig,  but  to  remain  in  his  own  country ;  and 
experience  confirmed  the  wisdom  of  his  advice.  Rietschel 
remained  in  Dresden,  and  its  nearness  to  Berlin  enabled 
the  brother  artists  to  have  frequent  personal  communica- 
tion. Their  correspondence  shows  how  close  their  rela- 
tion was,  and  how  deeply  the  elder  sympathized  with  every 
joy  and  sorrow  of  his  former  pupil.  He  writes  him  most 
tenderly  on  the  death  of  his  cherished  wife,  yet  tries  to 
brace  him  up  to  seek  consolation  in  work :  "  Since  life  is 
work  alone,  and  this  is  the  only  joy  in  life,  you  will  again 
be  restored  to  health,  and  give  undivided  thanks  to 
Heaven  that  you  can  look  forward  to  so  much  more  in 
this  direction." 

Thus  Rauch  was  the  life  of  the  workshop  and  school ; 
.judging  strictly,  inspiring  others  by  his  own  creative 
work,  and  upholding  them  by  counsel  and  sympathy.  He 
had  always  in  view  not  alone  the  production  of  his  own 


2O6  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

conceptions,  but  the  education  of  others,  and  the  devel- 
opment of  art  in  Germany ;  and  therefore  he  deserves  to 
be  considered  as  the  founder  of  a  school,  and  an  epoch- 
making  artist. 

He  was  always  interested  in  the  improvement  of  the 
reproductive  arts,  knowing  that  they  are  essential  to  a 
broad  diffusion  of  artistic  taste  and  knowledge. 

He  had  met  the  celebrated  engravers  Toschi  and  Ri- 
chomme  in  Paris  in  1826,  and  had  arranged  with  them  to 
receive  pupils,  in  order  to  build  up  a  school  of  engraving 
in  connection  with  the  academy  of  Prussia.  As  his  own 
master-works  began  to  excite  attention,  not  only  in  Ger- 
many, but  in  other  lands,  he  felt  an  interest  in  engraving 
on  his  own  account,  that  those  who  could  not  see  the 
original  statues  might  share  in  the  knowledge  of  his  work. 

By  the  command  of  the  king  lithographic  reproductions 
had  been  made  in  1824,  by  Luderitz,  of  the  statues  of  the 
warriors  Scharnhorst,  Billow,  and  the  two  Bluchers  ;  but 
they  were  not  very  satisfactory.  Rauch  then  considered 
the  publication  of  engravings  of  his  works,  and  took 
advantage  of  a  brief  correspondence  with  Boisseree  in 
regard  to  the  Goethe  statue  to  ask  his  advice  about  it. 
Boisseree  applied  to  Cotta  in  Stuttgart  ;  but  he  at  first 
refused  to  undertake  it,  and  Boisseree  advised  Rauch  to 
print  a  first  sheet  at  his  own  cost,  as  a  feeler  which  might 
lead  to  the  publication  by  Cotta.  He  had  drawings 
made  from  seventeen  subjects,  and  had  eight  of  them 
engraved  by  Berger,  the  son  of  the  professor  of  the  Royal 
Academy.  As  he  had  to  pay  ten  Friedrichs  d'or  for  the 
engraving  of  each  plate,  the  outlay  had  already  grown  to 
nearly  seven  hundred  thalers,  when  he  once  more  made 
an  effort  to  find  a  publisher  for  the  nine  new  plates  which 
meanwhile  had  been  engraved  by  Buchhorn,  also  a  pro- 
fessor of  the  Berlin  Academy.  Many  attempts  failed. 
Of  Roman  engravings  after  Thorwaldsen  only  one  hun- 
dred and  thirty  copies  were  sold.  The  house  of  Ger- 


HOME    AND    FRIENDS.  —  SCHOOL    AND    ATELIER        2O/ 

stacker  &  Schenk  finally  undertook  the  commission. 
Waagen  wrote  the  text  for  it.  A  French  translation  was 
so  poor,  that  the  state  minister  Ancillon,  who  undertook 
the  revision  of  the  proof-sheets,  wrote  to  Rauch,  "  I  know 
not  what  barbarian  has  ventured  in  this  gibberish  to  make 
the  pride  of  the  fatherland  known  to  strangers  :  I  don't 
want  to  know  him  ;  but  it  grieves  me  that  your  friendship 
did  not  trust  me  from  the  beginning  with  this  work,  and 
I  willingly  offer  myself  as  a  translator  of  the  following 
sheets.  Your  name  is  a  national  possession,  and  it  is  the 
duty  of  every  Prussian  to  bring  it  before  foreigners  in 
proper  form." 

The  result  was  not  satisfactory.  Rauch  writes  to  Bois- 
seree  commending  the  engravings  to  his  attention,  that 
he  may  see  what  is  the  condition  of  the  art  of  engraving, 
for  which  the  government  is  doing  nothing.  Sixty-six 
copies  were  sold  in  two  years. 

Rauch  was  not  discouraged,  however,  but  had  the 
Queen  Louise  monument  and  the  higher  reliefs  of  the 
Blucher  statue  engraved  by  Caspar,  and  the  lower,  the  ex- 
pedition to  France,  by  Eichens,  who,  as  previously  men- 
tioned, became  by  Rauch's  recommendation  the  pupil  of 
Toschi,  the  celebrated  engraver  of  Correggio's  works. 
But  these  engravings  did  not  prove  good,  and  now  by 
Rietschel's  advice  he  turned  to  Thaeter. 

This  engraver  has  left  valuable  autobiographical  notes 
and  letters,  from  which  his  own  interesting  history  and 
the  story  of  his  connection  with  Rauch  can  be  learned. 
He  was  an  early  friend  of  Rietschel,  and  had  a  hard  strug- 
gle in  his  artistic  career.*  He  now  came  to  Berlin,  and 
engraved  a  plate  from  a  drawing  by  Rietschel  of  Rauch's 
new  monument  to  Francke,  at  Halle,  to  the  satisfaction  of 
Rauch.  Thorwaldsen  was  also  greatly  pleased  with  it. 
Thaeter,  however,  left  Berlin  for  want  of  employment,  and 
in  1830  we  hear  of  him  in  Munich,  and  then  in  Dresden, 
and  again  busied  with  work  for  Rauch,  in  drawings  and 


2O8  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

engravings  of  the  Max  Joseph  monument  and  the  reliefs 
of  the  Bliicher  monument. 

Rauch  writes  to  Rietschel  in  1830,  praising  his  work 
highly,  and  then  follow  special  directions  for  the  improve- 
ment of  the  engravings  of  the  Max  Joseph  monument. 
"But,"  he  adds,  "do  not  think  that  I  wish  to  find  any  fault 
with  you  or  Thaeter ;  but  it  is  always  my  desire  to  make 
the  thing  as  good  as  possible.  If  I  am  wrong,  that  is  my 
harm  and  shame."  So  careful  was  he  in  criticism  !  To 
further  expressions  of  praise  and  slight  criticism  Thaeter 
answers  with  expressions  of  thanks,  January  2,  1831  :  "I 
can  never  forget  that  the  first  day  that  I  took  hold  of  your 
work  was  the  birthday  of  my  good  luck."  The  work  con- 
tinued with  frequent  expressions  of  satisfaction  and  grati- 
tude on  the  part  of  the  engraver  for  two  years.  But  with 
all  his  admiration  for  the  engraving,  Rauch  was  not  quite 
satisfied  with  the  representation  of  his  conception  of  the 
statues.  He  gives  an  instance  of  his  meaning  in  regard 
to  the  statue  of  King  Max.  Perhaps  an  explanation  of 
this  want  of  comprehension  of  the  statues  may  be  found 
in  a  remark  which  Thaeter  made  in  his  diary  when  he 
first  began  to  work  for  Schnorr.  "  I  must  confess,  also, 
that  the  Rauch  subjects,  on  which  I  worked  constantly, 
wearied  me  more  and  more,"  and  he  gave  practical  expres- 
sion to  this  feeling  ;  for  Rauch  writes  in  1837  to  Rietschel, 
"I  have  seen  or  heard  nothing  of  Thaeter  since  1835, 
although  he  has  yet  a  drawing  of  mine  to  engrave."  He 
says  also  that  the  engravings  have  been  rather  severely 
criticised,  which  he  fears  Thaeter  will  not  find  pleasant ; 
and  he  has  withdrawn  several  of  the  plates,  and  is  inclined 
to  withdraw  them  all,  since  he  thinks  they  will  not  help 
his  reputation  ;  and  he  will  try  to  have  only  light  sketches 
from  Gropius.  Rauch  had  written  Thaeter  four  letters, 
asking  him  to  make  some  changes  in  his  work,  before  he 
received  an  answer.  It  was  not  a  pleasant  one.  Thatter 
refused  to  make  the  desired  changes,  and  asked  that  his 


HOME    AND    FRIENDS. SCHOOL    AND    ATELIER        209 

name  be  left  off  the  plate  if  they  were  made  by  another. 
Rauch  says,  "  I  must,  therefore,  have  the  plates  engraved 
as  they  are,  and  bear  the  injury  ;  but  I  can  get  this  satis- 
faction out  of  it,  that  Thaeter  now  is  a  good  engraver,  and 
can  serve  others  better  than  he  has  served  me,  on  which 
account  I  am  not  sorry,  and  consign  my  deceived  hopes 
with  the  plates  to  oblivion."  l  So  ended  Rauch's  relations 
with  Thaeter. 

But  some  writers  in  encyclopaedias  have  blamed  Rauch 
for  his  treatment  of  Thaeter,  and  accused  him  of  inviting 
the  engraver  to  Berlin,  and  then  neglecting  him.  Rauch's 
justification  can  easily  be  found  in  the  autobiography  and 
letters  of  Thaeter,  and  his  own  letters  to  Rietschel. 

Rauch  made  other  experiments  with  different  engrav- 
ers, but  was  discouraged  to  find  that  he  was  left  with  a 
balance  of  three  thousand  six  hundred  thalers  against  him, 
and  he  writes  to  Rietschel,  "What  shall  I  do?"  He  has 
been  advised  to  try  etching  ;  but  as  a  last  hope  he  gives  a 
single  sheet  of  the  Durer  statue  to  an  art -house  in  Nurem- 
berg, and  succeeds  in  getting  back  half  of  the  cost.  He 
mourns  over  his  lost  ideal  of  the  noble  German  technique. 

However,  he  was  correct  in  his  predictions  of  the  suc- 
cess of  Thaeter,  who  profited  by  the  criticisms  he  had 
received,  and  who  became  the  foremost  artist  in  what  was 
called  gezeichneten  Knpferstitches,  in  opposition  to.  the 
farbiger  Stitch,  which  strives  after  the  effects  of  color.2 

1  This  recital  of  the  difficulties  which  Rauch  encountered  in  the  effort  to  obtain  a 
worthy  reproduction  of  his  works,  gives  us  a  vivid  sense  of  gratitude  for  the  invention 
of  the  daguerrotype  and  photograph,  which  have  placed  such  ample  means  at  the  com- 
mand of  the  artist,  and  which  instead  of  superseding  the  more  permanent  forms  of 
engraving  have  proved  themselves  valuable  allies. 

2  By  his  thorough  study  of  drawing  Thaeter  did  great  service  to  the  school  of 
color,  which  has  proved  so  successful  in  Germany  ;  and  the  greatest  master  of  this 
school,  William  Unger,  confesses  that  he  owes  much  to  the  three-years'  teaching  of 
Thaeter  ;  and  he  is  not  the  only  one  of  his  scholars  who  have  become  distinguished 
in  the  field  of  colored  engravings. 


2IO  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 


CHAPTER  XI 

PORTRAIT    AND    MISCELLANEOUS    SCULPTURE 
1821-1844 

THE  combination  of  a  strong  sense  of  personal  charac- 
teristics in  his  subjects,  united  with  an  appreciation  of 
ideal  representation  which  he  never  lost  sight  of,  especially 
fitted  Rauch  for  portraiture  ;  and  accordingly  we  find  his 
work  in  that  line,  both  in  monumental  statues  and  in 
busts  of  living  men,  of  great  interest  and  value. 

The  sudden  death  of  General  Gneisenau  from  cholera 
stimulated  the  desire  for  a  monument  to  this  popular  gen- 
eral, and  Rauch  was  commissioned  to  make  a  statue.  His 
second  sketch  was  approved,  and  he  confided  the  execu- 
tion of  it  to  Drake.  The  marble  was  embarked  on  the 
brig  Fortuna  from  Leghorn,  which  was  stranded,  and  only 
the  crew  saved,  thus  giving  Rauch  the  always  coveted 
opportunity  of  improving  upon  his  work.  The  pecuniary 
loss  was  only  the  insurance  premium,  and  he  went  to  work 
at  once  on  a  new  sketch.  The  new  design  was  simpler 
and  more  unpretending.  The  cast  was  sent  to  Carrara  in 
1838,  and  was  finished  in  January,  1841.  It  was  unveiled 
with  great  festivities  at  Magdeburg,  at  which  the  king 
commanded  the  sculptor's  attendance. 

I  must  pass  over  many  projects  of  work,  some  of  which 
were  given  up,  and  some  only  carried  out  at  a  later  period, 
in  order  to  speak  of  the  busts  which  now  occupied  much 
of  his  time.  This  work  was  not  entirely  to  Rauch's  taste  ; 
for  he  felt  the  expression  of  the  whole  figure,  and  was 
not  contented  with  that  of  the  head  alone. 


PORTRAIT    AND    MISCELLANEOUS    SCULPTURE         211 

He  writes  to  Rietschel  in  warm  praise  of  his  bust  of 
Prince  John,  saying  that  he  has  himself  spent  much  time 
in  such  work,  and  he  knows  how  much  is  needed,  from 
the  first  blocking  out  of  the  clay  to  the  last  stroke  of  the 
chisel,  in  order  to  give  satisfaction  to  one's  self  or  the  spec- 
tator. But  fears  arise  in  his  mind  that  this  success  will 
lead  to  great  business  of  this  kind  for  Rietschel,  instead 
of  which  he  wishes  him  to  turn  to  greater  works. 

To  Lund  he  calls  the  demands  for  likenesses  an  "  ever- 
lasting plague,"  especially  when  he  has  to  work  from 
insufficient  material,  death-masks,  or  poor  pictures;  "al- 
ways new  stuff  for  hypochondria  and  dark  hours  ;  a  work 
of  necessity,  of  dislike,  and  without  prospect  of  success, 
which  is  unfortunately  unavoidable,  and  so  often  repeated 
and  so  burdensome  that  it  makes  me  tired."  This  last 
expression  in  the  diary  refers  to  the  bust  of  the  minister 
of  foreign  affairs,  Count  von  Bernstoff,  which  the  king 
had  commanded,  and  which  he  had  to  make  from  the 
death-mask.  In  spite  of  all  difficulties  he  succeeded  to  the 
perfect  satisfaction  of  the  king.  Among  the  many  busts 
which  he  had  to  make  from  death-masks,  we  are  interested 
in  one  taken  of  August  Ernst,  the  Count  Voss,  who  died 
in  1832,  and  who  was  the  grandson  of  the  well-known 
Countess  Voss,  who  was  sixty-nine  years  at  the  Prussian 
court,  "  eine  Hofmeisterin,  wie  sie  sein  soil."  The  face 
of  this  count,  scarcely  entered  into  his  sixtieth  year,  is  of 
winning,  friendly  sweetness,  and  reminds  one  partly  in  the 
form,  but  still  more  in  the  expression,  of  the  portrait  of  his 
grandmother,  which  is  given  in  the  "  Remembrances  of  Her 
Life."  Among  these  many  busts,  more  or  less  wearisome, 
Rauch  had  genuine  satisfaction  in  making  one  of  Stage- 
mann,  which  was  ordered  by  his  friends  for  a  festival  com- 
memoration of  his  fifty  years  of  official  life.  "  I  shall 
finish  to-morrow,"  he  writes,  "the  bust  of  the  councillor 
Stagemann,  in  which  no  common  face  or  form  of  head 
appears,  but  only  a  right  living  physiognomy  seventy-five 


212  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

yours  old  ;  what  a  work  !     The  splendid  man  is  so  dear  to 
me  that  I  am  going  to  do  this  work  gratis,  as  a  memorial." 

Schadow  prized  Rauch's  work  in  portrait  busts  very 
highly  ;  in  no  other  branch  does  he  praise  him  more  fully. 
In  1810  he  said  of  a  bust  by  Thorwaldsen,  "Just  in  this 
line  he  stands  after  our  Professor  Rauch."  This  judg- 
ment may  be  justified  by  comparing  the  busts  by  Ranch 
of  Alexander  von  Humboldt  and  the  children,  Gustav  and 
Louise,  with  the  busts  of  Wilhelm  von  Humboldt  and  his 
wife,  by  Thorwaldsen.  "  Every  one  recognizes  the  feeling 
of  a  '  speaking  likeness '  which  we  have  in  looking  at  a 
good  portrait,  even  when  we  do  not  know  the  original ; 
but  Thorwaldsen's  busts  gives  us  the  impression  of  unlike- 
ness.  Did  Caroline  von  Humboldt  look  so  ?  asks  one, 
doubting,  and  those  who  knew  her  aver  that  she  did  not. 
The  effects  seem  labored,  and  the  marble  remains  cold 
and  impassive."  This  seems  to  me  to  point  out  by  con- 
trast the  especial  technical  merit  of  Rauch's  busts,  in  the 
exquisite  flexibility  of  the  muscles,  so  that  the  face  seems 
sensitive  and  ready  to  express  any  emotion,  while  it  is  full 
of  present  dignity  and  repose. 

Rauch  continued  to  justify  this  favorable  judgment  of 
his  old  master  in  increasing  measure.  He  never  did  any 
careless  work.  Even  if  he  did  not  willingly  undertake  a 
bust,  he  gave  the  same  conscientious  attention  to  it  as  if  it 
were  his  own  choice ;  and  he  always  examined  every  copy 
of  his  often-repeated  works  in  marble.  His  busts  in 
marble  seem  to  have  been  a  favorite  present  from  one 
prince  to  another.  In  May,  1821,  Rauch  modelled  the 
Crown  Prince  Nicholas  of  Russia,  who  was  then  on  a  visit 
to  Berlin.  When  he  came  again  in  1829  as  emperor,  the 
bust  was  remodelled  from  nature,  the  face  made  some- 
what fuller,  the  hair  of  the  head  less  abundant,  and  the 
beard  stronger. 

1822  was  a  very  busy  year  for  busts.  In  February  he 
finished  the  model  of  his  daughter  Agnes,  begun  in  the 


PORTRAIT    AND    MISCELLANEOUS    SCULPTURE          213 

previous  November.  He  began  putting  it  in  marble  in 
1837,  and  changed  the  style  of  hair  to  a  wavy  crown.  I 
have  not  seen  the  criticism  elsewhere,  but  it  seems  to  me 
that  Rauch  was  a  little  over-fond  of  this  style  of  a  crowned 
or  wreathed  head  in  his  female  busts,  and  that  it  gives  an 
over-weight  to  the  top  of  the  head,  which  disturbs  the 
symmetry  and  lessens  the  force  of  character.  He  contin- 
ued this  work  in  1844,  and  added  an  ivy  wreath,  whose  ber- 
ries hung  down  on  the  side.  In  the  following  year  he 
received  the  bust  blocked  out  in  Carrara  marble  by  Sangui- 
netti ;  but  it  was  not  finished  until  thirty  years  later,  in 
1850,  when  only  a  little  change  of  the  mouth  was  needed. 

In  1826  the  Duke  of  Wellington  ordered  the  bust  of 
King  Friedrich  Wilhelm  III.,  which  Rauch  modelled  in 
his  full  uniform.  This  bust  was  repeated,  with  changes 
in  drapery,  many  times  for  distinguished  princes  and 
generals. 

In  1828,  having  no  outside  commissions  for  busts,  he 
modelled  one  of  himself.  He  made  it  without  drapery, 
and  slightly  turned  to  the  left  ;  and  he  says  others  thought 
the  likeness  good.  This  bust  went  to  his  friend  Lund,  in 
Copenhagen,  who  uncovered  it  on  festal  occasions.  Caro- 
line von  Fouque,  the  wife  of  the  poet,  writes  enthusiasti- 
cally of  it  to  Rauch,  and  concludes,  "  Of  your  clear,  good 
eye,  which  shines  out  so  life-like  from  the  white  plaster, 
and  of  the  smiling  mouth  which  trembles  with  a  jest,  and 
smiles  within  and  without,  I  might  say  many  things,  and 
yet  not  say  enough."  In  1829  Rauch  made  a  bust  of 
his  friend  Schleiermacher.  Schleiermacher  had  confirmed 
Rauch's  daughters  in  their  early  years  ;  and  now  while 
his  bust  was  in  progress  came  the  joyful  espousal  feast  of 
the  eldest  daughter,  Agnes,  to  Dr.  Eduard  d' Alton.  The 
wedding  was  celebrated  by  Schleiermacher  in  a  circle 
of  friends  of  distinction,  including  Humboldt,  Schinkel, 
Wach,  Tieck,  Bunsen,  Schadow,  Schlesinger,  Rietschel, 
and  many  others. 


214  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

Schleiermacher's  bust  was  put  in  marble  by  contribu- 
tions from  members  of  his  congregation  and  other  friends. 
He  is  clothed  in  a  preacher's  gown  ;  the  face  is  slightly 
turned  to  the  left,  and  expresses  the  mild,  eloquent  charac- 
ter of  the  great  preacher.  The  execution  is  masterly,  and 
this  is  perhaps  the  best  bust  of  that  period.  Since  1869 
it  has  stood  in  bronze  at  the  foot  of  Lubeck's  Height  in 
Breslau,  Schleiermacher's  birthplace.  The  same  summer 
Rauch  modelled  the  young  Prince  Alexander,  afterward 
Emperor  of  Russia,  which  was  repeatedly  copied  in  marble  ; 
and  finally  he  took  in  hand  the  portrait  of  Frederic  the 
Great,  begun  two  years  before. 

The  number  of  busts  executed  in  ten  years,  between 
1819  and  1829,  most  of  which  are  now  in  the  Rauch  Mu- 
seum, amounts  to  about  forty.  I  condense  slightly  Dr. 
Egger's  admirable  account  of  Rauch's  work  in  busts  :  — 

"A  comparison  of  the  busts  in  their  chronological  order 
shows,  besides  an  increasing  care  and  skill  in  the  execu- 
tion, a  continual  development  of  the  master  in  recogniz- 
ing the  demands  the  bust  makes  as  a  subject  of  plastic 
art.  Originally  Rauch  was  led  by  the  feeling  that  the 
bust  is  the  head  of  an  imaginary  statue.  It  was  on  this 
account  placed  in  sympathetic  action  in  position  and  ex- 
pression, even  in  excited  action,  since  from  such  a  point  of 
view  the  head  alone  represents  the  action  of  the  body  and 
the  limbs  ;  hence  the  energetic  turn  of  the  head,  the 
expression  of  a  determined  thought  in  the  countenance. 
This  decided  character  shown  in  the  Bliicher  busts  by  the 
grim,  decided  turning  to  the  left ;  in  the  Scharnhorst  by 
the  inclination  of  the  head  turned  sharply  to  the  right,  in  the 
expression  of  energetic  reflection  turned  to  a  single  point, 
is  decidedly  weakened  in  the  following  period  of  ten  years. 
The  strong  turning  of  the  head  appears  only  as  a  move- 
ment of  a  general  character.  We  know  only  two  heads 
strongly  turned  to  the  side  ;  those  of  the  Count  Ingen- 
heim  and  the  Grand  Duke  Nicholas.  In  the  latter  it  be- 


PORTRAIT    AND    MISCELLANEOUS    SCULPTURE         215 

comes  almost  a  profile  view,  and  expresses  very  happily 
the  quick,  energetic  character  of  the  duke,  without  indi- 
cating any  action  of  the  moment.  The  decided  turn  has 
become  a  very  slight  inclination,  so  that  the  spectator 
does  not  see  an  entirely  front  face,  in  which  the  character- 
istic modelling  of  the  forehead  and  nose  are  not  so  well 
shown  as  on  the  side. 

"  In  the  expression  of  the  bust,  momentary  action  is 
less  and  less  given,  and  the  general  character,  the  ideal 
content  of  expression,  put  in  its  place,  as  the  model  stat- 
ues of  the  antique  teach  us  ;  and  as  this  has  become  a 
leading  art  principle  with  the  old  master  Schadow,  when 
he  gives  the  rule,  '  It  is  not  wise  to  show  the  expression 
of  emotions  in  a  bust.'  In  keeping  with  these  views 
Rauch  generally  puts  the  head  on  a  pedestal  without 
drapery,  or,  if  he  uses  it,  it  is  in  the  antique  style  ;  the 
Ionic  chiton  for  women,  the  toga  for  men.  In  rare  cases 
he  uses  the  military  uniform  or  cloak,  or  the  gown  of  a 
preacher,  as  in  the  case  of  Schleiermacher. 

"  Opposed  to  this  approach  to  the  ideal  stands  the 
single  realistic  movement,  to  enliven  the  physiognomic 
expression  by  emphasizing  the  pupils  of  the  eyes  through 
depression,  and  a  deepened  circle  to  produce  an  effect 
like  painting,  a  plastic  untruth  which  (it  must  be  mod- 
estly said,  since  Rauch  did  it),  if  it  does  not  overpass  the 
bounds  of  art,  at  least  comes  very  near  the  edge." 

"  Until  the  year  1822  only  two  busts,  those  of  the  Prin- 
cess Charlotte  and  of  General  Scharnhorst,  are  known 
with  the  indication  of  the  pupil  ;  in  the  time  from  1823 
to  1826  we  find  very  many  without  this  indication,  and 
from  that  time  till  1830  we  see  none  of  the  busts  with- 
out it,  and  after  that  only  in  special  cases,  in  which  this 
mark  is  left  out  for  evident  reasons." 

I  may  add  here  an  account  of  the  portrait  statue  of 
Friedrich  Wilhelm  I.  at  Gumbinnen.  This  royal  ancestor 
was  a  great  favorite  of  Friedrich  Wilhelm  III.,  who 


2l6  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    KAUCH 

found  in  him  the  pacific  virtues  which  he  sought  to  emu- 
late,—  energy,  order,  and  economy,  with  religious  tolerance 
and  the  encouragement  of  industry,  while  he  had  also 
won  military  renown  by  the  establishment  of  the  Land- 
wehr  and  the  extension  of  Prussian  territory.  He  was 
protector  of  the  Protestants,  who  were  oppressed  by  Aus- 
tria. Nearly  eighteen  thousand  of  the  citizens  of  the 
archbishopric  of  Salzburg  left  their  old  homes  to  accept 
those  offered  by  Friedrich  Wilhelm.  The  lands  desolated 
by  the  plague  offered  room  enough,  and  so  Gumbinnen 
became  a  city.  The  king  cared  for  this  colony  till  his 
death.  Six  cities,  over  three  hundred  villages,  and  some 
six  thousand  houses  were  built  up,  and  the  impoverished 
land  became  blooming  and  prosperous.  On  the  centen- 
nial anniversary  of  the  founding  of  their  city,  the  people 
of  Gumbinnen  were  very  anxious  to  erect  a  statue  of 
their  founder.  Rauch  was  engaged  to  make  a  sketch. 
His  first  sketch  pleased  the  king;  but  the  execution  of  it 
was  long  delayed,  waiting  for  Schinkel's  plans  for  the 
pedestal.  Many  details  then  vexed  the  sculptor,  such  as 
questions  in  regard  to  the  cost  of  the  inscriptions,  which 
now  are  left  to  the  stone-cutter. 

The  king  saw  the  statue  in  1838,  at  the  same  time  as 
the  second  one  of  Queen  Louise.  He  was  satisfied  on 
the  whole,  but  made  some  criticisms  on  the  buttons  and 
ornaments,  and  thought  the  head  too  youthful.  After 
some  difficulties  in  the  casting  were  overcome,  Rauch  was 
at  last  able  to  show  the  finished  statue  to  the  magistrates 
of  Gumbinnen  in  1830. 

But  the  placing  of  the  statue  was  long  delayed.  The 
rising  in  Poland,  the  spread  of  the  cholera,  and  finally  a 
destructive  fire,  made  it  hard  to  pay  the  cost  of  the  work, 
which  was  about  fifteen  hundred  thalers  ;  and  the  king, 
in  consequence  of  a  petition  from  the  city  magistrates, 
finally  paid  it  in  1835,  so  that  on  his  birthday  the  unveil- 
ing could  take  place.  It  now  stands  in  the  marketplace 
at  Gumbinnen. 


PORTRAIT    AND    MISCELLANEOUS    SCULPTURE         2 1/ 

The  representation  of  the  king  is  excellent.  The  bear- 
ing is  sturdy,  corresponding  to  his  simple,  vigorous  char- 
acter; and  he  has  an  earnest,  benevolent  expression. 
Being  the  first  among  the  princes  of  Europe  to  wear  the 
simple  soldier's  coat  instead  of  a  court-dress,  he  is  clothed 
in  the  military  dress  of  his  time,  in  pointed  boots,  close- 
fitting  trousers,  long  vest,  and  an  open  embroidered  over- 
coat, with  stiff  collar  and  facings,  out  of  which  appear  the 
ruffs  and  cuffs.  The  ermine  cloak  is  closed  on  the  right 
shoulder,  and  the  right  hand  is  raised  as  in  blessing.  The 
right  side  of  the  body  is  free,  while  the  other  side  of  the 
cloak  is  raised  half  way  up  the  body  by  the  left  hand 
leaning  on  the  sword. 

We  have,  fortunately,  one  fine  specimen  of  the  portrait 
bust  in  America,  which  will  reward  the  study  of  those 
who  have  become  interested  in  the  work  of  the  German 
sculptor. 

Rauch's  bust  of  Alexander  von  Humboldt  in  the  Cor- 
coran Gallery  is  a  beautiful  specimen  of  his  portrait  work. 
It  was  made  especially  for  Mr.  Corcoran,  at  Humboldt's 
request.  The  quality  that  most  struck  me  was  the  ex- 
quisite flexibility  of  the  muscles,  which  seemed  to  quiver 
with  changes  of  thought,  as  seems  very  characteristic 
of  the  man.  The  whole  expression  is  very  tender  and 
sweet,  while  the  fine  brow  and  clear  outlook  indicate  his 
intellectual  power.  A  man  of  affection  and  thought  one 
would  be  inclined  to  say,  rather  than  of  extreme  will- 
power, and  yet  he  knew  well  how  and  when  to  act.  The 
dimpling  effect  around  the  mouth  gives  a  feminine  beauty 
to  the  face  ;  but  the  fine  modelling  of  the  muscles  of 
the  neck  shows  that  Rauch  did  not  seek  beauty  at  the 
expense  of  firmness. 

This  bust  is  slightly  changed  in  the  turn  of  the  head 
from  the  one  for  which  Humboldt  sat  in  1851.  This  well- 
known  early  bust  had  ceased  to  resemble  him,  and,  at  the 
command  of  the  king,  Rauch,  in  four  sittings,  made  the 


2l8  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

bust  of  the  gray-haired  author  of  the  "  Cosmos  "  which  has 
become  the  typical  likeness.  It  was  given  to  the  king  in 
marble  in  1854,  and  in  1856  it  was  repeated  for  Mr. 
Corcoran,  it  is  said  at  the  special  request  of  Humboldt. 

In  1825  Rauch  received  a  commission  for  a  monument 
to  August  Hermann  Francke,  the  founder  of  an  orphan 
asylum  in  Halle.  This  was  a  happy  departure  from  the 
old  custom  of  raising  statues  only  to  princes  and  war- 
riors. Rauch  felt  that  in  this  statue  the  beautiful,  mod- 
est, humane  spirit  of  the  man  was  to  be  shown,  and  this 
could  be  done  only  in  a  group,  and  he  placed  Francke 
between  two  of  his  orphan  boys.  This  design  being  pre- 
sented to  the  committee,  Chancellor  Nemeyer  said,  "  In 
order  to  build  a  monument  to  the  humane  Francke,  one 
must  himself  be  a  man  as  humane  as  the  excellent 
Rauch."  The  sketches  and  casts  were  subjected  to 
severe  and  even  unfriendly  criticism,  and  there  was  much 
dispute  about  a  place  for  the  statue  ;  but  the  contract  was 
finally  executed  in  July,  1826.  The  original  design  was 
changed  by  making  one  of  the  side  figures  a  little  girl,  a 
happy  idea,  which  must  have  touched  Rauch's  feelings. 
The  children  wear  shoes,  and  are  draped  in  sleeveless 
shirts,  girded  at  the  waists,  —  an  ideal  costume,  which 
unites  well  with  the  quiet  handling  of  the  spiritual  robe. 
This  happy  idea  of  the  children  opened  to  Rauch  a 
whole  new  plastic  activity,  which  he  repeated  in  marble 
and  bronze,  and  which  led  to  the  later  forms  of  children 
in  which  he  personified  Faith,  Love,  and  Hope. 

In  the  monument  of  the  Princess  of  Darmstadt,  as  in 
the  Psyche  image  of  Adelaide  von  Humboldt,  Rauch 
found  an  opportunity  for  uniting  ideal  expression  with 
portraiture.  The  reliefs  connected  with  the  portrait  gave 
this  opportunity,  and  Rauch  could  never  feel  satisfied 
with  any  work  of  art  that  did  not  unite  these  two  charac- 
ters. At  this  same  time  he  was  engaged  on  the  monument 
to  Maximilian  Joseph  of  Bavaria,  the  sides  of  which  were 


PORTRAIT    AND    MISCELLANEOUS    SCULPTURE          2 19 

to  be  ornamented  with  reliefs.  "  This  was  a  busy  time  in 
his  atelier,  both  busts  and  monumental  works  in  various 
stages  of  relief  being  found  there.  Scarcely  was  the  last 
touch  put  upon  the  reliefs  of  the  Bliicher  monument, 
when  already  the  clay  was  being  formed  into  sketches 
which  in  nine  years  grew  into  the  colossal  monument  for 
the  Bavarian  capital ;  and  the  immense  figure  of  Friedrich 
Wilhelm  I.  was  built  up  near  the  almost  finished  models 
of  the  three  figures  of  the  Francke  monument.  The 
marble  dust  flew  under  the  chisel  and  file  which  were  fin- 
ishing the  evangelists  and  the  baptismal  font,  the  Cooper 
monument  and  the  marble  image  of  the  Psyche.  Daz- 
zling lights  played  on  the  deep-colored  clay  sketches  of 
the  Goethe  statue,  and  the  designs  in  antique  style  for 
Cassel  ;  while  their  progenitors,  the  muses  Urania  and 
Polyhymnia,  looked  earnestly  at  these  followers ;  for  Rauch 
had  given  to  these  antique  forms  the  head  and  face  which 
an  envious  fate  had  hidden  from  their  discoverers.  What 
forms  of  creative  fancy  were  here  !  Along  the  walls,  on 
ledges  and  stands  they  stood  ready  ;  on  tripods  they 
awaited  their  final  destiny  ;  while  in  a  separate  hidden 
work-room  the  hand  of  the  master  lightly  raised  the  last 
veil  from  the  second  marble  image  of  Queen  Louise." 
From  the  queenly  woman,  Rauch  passed  to  the  represen- 
tation of  a  beautiful  child,  also  in  the  sleep  of  death.  In 
1821  the  Princess  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  the  Arch-Duke 
Ludwig  of  Bavaria,  died  in  her  sixth  year.  Moller,  a 
celebrated  architect,  was  commissioned  to  build  a  mauso- 
leum, for  which  Rauch  was  to  model  the  sleeping  child. 
He  accepted  the  commission  with  such  zeal  that  at  the 
end  of  the  week  he  sent  three  sketches,  of  which  he 
recommended  the  last  one.  Only  a  slight  change  in  hair 
and  drapery  was  desired  by  the  mother.  He  afterwards 
sent  the  cast,  asking  for  further  instructions.  The  prin- 
cess gave  suggestions  for  improving  the  likeness,  but  was 
so  pleased  with  the  design  that  she  begged  Rauch  to  exe- 


22O  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

cute  it  with  his  own  hand,  saying  that  she  would  willingly 
wait  longer  for  his  own  work.  Rauch  needed  no  urging 
to  do  this  work  so  dear  to  his  feelings  ;  but  he  was  unable 
to  finish  and  send  it  until  August,  1831.  By  Rauch's  wish, 
Moller  made  some  changes  in  the  mausoleum,  especially 
softening  the  contrasts  of  color  by  the  use  of  giallo  antico, 
and  by  having  the  window  painted  with  flowers  and  leaves, 
so  that  the  burial-place  might  appear  like  a  summer  bower 
lighted  by  the  morning  sun. 

The  lovely  child  lies  in  slumber,  the  curly  head  turned 
to  the  right,  the  soft  drapery  leaving  the  arm  and  head 
bare,  while  the  little  foot  and  ankle  are  shod  with  a  laced 
boot.  The  right  hand  holds  an  unfinished  wreath,  into 
which  the  loose  flowers  in  the  left  hand  were  to  have  been 
woven.  She  has  fallen  asleep,  weaving  a  garland  for  her 
young  life.  The  mausoleum  is  no  longer  as  Moller  built 
it,  and  in  1878  a  larger  building  was  in  progress,punder  the 
direction  of  Professor  Wagner  of  Darmstadt. 

He  also  received  a  commission  for  a  funeral  monument 
to  the  wife  of  Count  Schulenburg.  The  plan  was  for  a 
standing  figure  whose  left  hand,  perhaps  holding  a  tear- 
cloth,  rests  on  an  urn  of  ashes,  while  with  the  other  she 
expresses  thankfulness.  It  was  to  stand  on  an  altar  dec- 
orated with  snakes,  reversed  torches,  cypress  branches, 
and  other  emblems  of  death.  Rauch  made  several  sketches, 
and  this  monument  was  finally  completed  and  placed  on 
the  grave  ;  but  there  is  some  doubt  as  to  the  part  which 
Rauch  took  in  the  execution.  His  interest  in  the  work 
was  not  sufficient  to  make  him  anxious  to  finish  every 
detail  of  the  work  himself,  and  the  many  allegorical  acces- 
sories seemed  to  him  too  much  in  the  expiring  Rococo 
style.  Dr.  Eggers  thinks  it  most  probable  that  Tieck  had 
a  large  share  in  the  work.  The  statue  itself  is  thoroughly 
classic  in  style,  and  reminds  one  "  of  that  priestess  who, 
banished  to  the  altar  of  Diana  in  Tauris,  stands  long 
days  on  the  shore,  seeking  the  land  of  Greece  with  her 


PORTRAIT    AND    MISCELLANEOUS    SCULPTURE          221 

soul.  But  the  action  of  this  hand  and  face  points  not  to 
a  land  beyond  the  seas,  but  to  another  beyond,  to  which 
the  soul  is  turned." 

Whether  in  connection  with  this  work,  or  from  other 
causes,  we  know  not,  but  differences  of  temperament  and 
methods  of  work  brought  about  a  little  coolness  of  feeling 
between  these  two  artists  who  had  long  worked  so  harmo- 
niously together.  While  Rauch  was  excessively  methodi- 
cal and  punctual,  virtues  or  faults  which  are  not  apt  to 
lessen  with  age,  Tieck  on  the  other  hand  had  no  consider- 
ation for  time,  and  would  linger  over  his  books  and  his 
favorite  studies  far  into  the  night,  and  unfit  himself  for 
work  on  the  following  day.  His  pecuniary  affairs  were 
also  in  disorder  from  his  constantly  lavishing  money  on  his 
sister's  family.  Rauch  writes  to  Humboldt  in  1822  that 
it  is  hopeless,  .since  what  can  Tieck  do  when  he  works 
only  to  pay  off  debts  ?  Owing  to  these  differences  of 
habits  the  artists  separated  their  households.  But  so  soon 
as  Rauch  went  away  for  a  summer  trip  of  a  few  weeks, 
Tieck  resumed  his  old  habit  of  writing  constantly  to  him, 
and  begins  one  of  his  letters,  "  Although  it  is  no  longer 
probable,  dearest  friend,  that  you  can  receive  this  letter, 
yet  I  cannot  bring  my  heart  to  let  the  post-day  go  by, 
even  although  I  have  nothing  to  write."  The  little  divis- 
ion of  feeling  was  temporary,  and  although  Tieck's  pecun- 
iary embarrassments  continued,  Rauch  did  not  weary  in 
his  efforts  to  procure  him  suitable  work.  It  is  quite  prob- 
able that  this  motive  led  to  his  work  on  the  Schulenburg 
monument. 

Another  very  interesting  work  of  this  period,  about  1822, 
was  the  adaptation  of  the  figures  of  the  apostles  of  Peter 
Vischer  from  St.  Sebald's  Church  at  Nuremberg.  In  prepa- 
ration for  the  celebration  of  the  three  hundredth  anni- 
versary of  the  Reformation,  Schinkel  was  commissioned 
to  prepare  a  new  design  in  classical  style  to  conceal  the 
tasteless  appearance  of  the  old  cathedral  built  by  Frederic 


222  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

the  Great  in  1747.  Before  the  high  altar  he  arranged  a 
screen,  for  which  he  designed  a  bronze  grating.  It  opened 
through  three  doors  ornamented  with  rich  arabesques  in 
Schinkel's  style  of  Greek  renaissance.  Fluted  pillars, 
with  simply  composed  capitals,  form  the  supports  of  the 
grating,  and  they  are  so  far  ^part  that  between  each  two 
is  the  statuette  of  an  apostle,  the  adaptation  of  which  was 
committed  to  Rauch.  Schinkel  had  for  this  purpose  de- 
termined on  bronze  casts  of  the  celebrated  twelve  apostles 
of  St.  Sebald's  monument  by  Peter  Vischer,  and  he  com- 
mitted to  Rauch's  atelier  the  restoration  of  the  forms, 
with  the  necessary  proportions,  and  also  the  revision  of 
them  to  correct  formal  faults,  in  order  that  the  technique 
might  be  brought  into  harmony  with  the  style  of  Schinkel. 
Little  change  of  this  kind  was  needed,  on  account  of  the 
excellence  of  this  work  of  the  flowering  time  of  German 
renaissance. 

The  best  of  Vischer's  figures  are  copied  exactly,  or 
with  very  slight  variations.  So  the  well-known  Paul,  the 
Thomas,  the  elder  James,  and  Bartholomseus  are  un- 
changed. The  robe  of  Peter  is  a  little  shortened,  and 
with  John  and  Philip  the  position  of  the  right  hand  is  some- 
what changed,  and  the  same  is  the  case  with  some  fea- 
tures of  Andrew  and  Matthew.  All  these  changes  which 
seemed  necessary  to  the  harmony  of  the  general  effect  were 
carried  out  under  Rauch's  direction  by  his  helper  Peter 
Kaufmann. 

But  he  reserved  for  himself  and  Tieck  two  statues 
which  seemed  to  require  more  essential  changes.  Tieck 
altered  the  awkward  position  of  the  left  arm,  stretched 
forwards  with  the  book  in  Simon  Xelotes,  and  changed 
somewhat  the  position  of  the  saw  and  drapery. 

Rauch  himself  undertook  what  he  thought  to  be  the 
weakest  figure,  the  Thaddeus.  In  the  general  position  of 
the  body,  only  the  left  leg  is  changed,  so  that  it  turns  a 
little  more  to  the  left,  with  the  foot  turned  outwards.  He 


PORTRAIT    AND    MISCELLANEOUS    SCULPTURE  223 

has  also  changed  the  left  arm  ;  and  the  club  which  Vischer's 
figure  held  in  a  painful  position,  perpendicular  to  the  body, 
he  has  placed  on  the  ground  near  the  left  foot,  so  that  it 
is  easily  supported  by  the  arm.  The  drapery  is  entirely 
altered.  In  harmony  with  the  other  statues  Rauch  has 
given  him  an  under-garment  reaching  to  the  ground,  while 
Vischer  left  the  lower  half  of  the  thigh  bare,  and  covered 
the  upper  part  with  breeches.  The  cloak  which  Vischer 
had  drawn  smoothly  about  the  body  like  an  apron,  Rauch 
has  thrown  like  a  toga  over  the  shoulder,  with  beautiful 
folds  under  the  left  arm.  The  classic  taste  of  the  modern 
sculptor  appears  in  strong  contrast  to  the  simple  direct- 
ness of  the  old  German  art.  Although  I  can  readily  be- 
lieve that  Rauch's  dignified  and  impressive  figure  is  more 
in  harmony  with  Schinkel's  architecture  than  Vischer's  own 
work  would  have  been,  I  cannot  think  with  complacency 
of  thus  using  another  artist's  work.  It  seems  like  forcing 
on  him  a  dress  he  might  not  willingly  wear. 

Tieck  also  prepared  the  angels  in  copper  for  the  niches, 
and  Rauch  presented  the  marble  baptismal  font,  which  was 
decorated  with  fishes  and  palms  in  a  simple  and  pleasing 
manner.  It  was  not  wholly  finished  until  1831,  which 
Rauch  thinks  was  fortunate,  as  he  executed  it  in  a  more 
thorough  manner  than  he  could  have  done  before. 

Dr.  Eggers  makes  an  interesting  comparison  between 
the  representations  of  the  apostles  by  Thorwaldsen  and 
by  Vischer ;  but  I  can  only  call  attention  to  the  superior 
robustness  and  energy  of  the  latter. 

Rauch  knew  the  statues  of  Vischer  only  by  casts,  until 
a  short  time  before  the  work  was  completed  ;  but  in  the 
winter  of  1828  he  spent  four  weeks  in  a  journey  to  Nurem- 
berg and  Munich.  He  saw  the  statues  in  company  with 
Reindel,  the  engraver  in  copper,  and  he  says  of  them  that 
all  the  figures  are  conceived  with  fine  invention,  and  with 
especial  boldness,  character,  and  lightness.  The  heads 
are  modelled  and  finished  with  great  care.  All  the  upper 


224  L1FE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

figures  and  groups  are  the  most  spirited  sketches  of  mod- 
ern sculpture,  and  the  heads  are  noble  masterpieces  in 
their  position  and  expression.  The  children  are  beautiful 
in  form,  and  certainly  must  have  been  modelled  from  ob- 
servation in  a  nursery.  The  architecture  may  be  well 
conceived  for  the  time,  but  it  is  rough  in  execution,  and 
the  reliefs  are  excellent  in  every  respect.  Each  apostle 
weighs  between  sixty  and  eighty  pounds.  What  a  valu- 
able influence  on  Rauch  this  study  of  the  genuine  old 
German  art  must  have  had  at  a  time  when  his  tendency  to 
classicism  was  so  strong. 

The  tender  feeling  shown  by  Rauch  in  the  mausoleum 
of  the  queen  led  many  to  desire  to  have  their  beloved 
dead  as  beautifully  portrayed,  and  many  commissions  came 
to  him  for  monumental  works.  In  1823  he  received  one 
from  the  Duchess  of  Cumberland,  the  sister  of  Queen 
Louise,  to  make  a  reclining  statue  of  a  still-born  child,  of 
which  Westmacott  (the  English  sculptor)  had  made  a 
death-mask.  Rauch  made  a  beautiful  design  of  a  portrait 
head  with  the  little  body  fully  draped  resting  on  extended 
Psyche  wings.  It  is  an  exquisite  creation,  which  might 
suggest  a  soul  so  pure  that  it  needed  not  the  discipline  of 
mortal  life. 

A  monument  for  the  wife  of  Sir  Edward  Cooper  occu- 
pied him  many  years.  Sir  Edward  wished  the  harp  of 
Erin  and  other  emblems  introduced,  which  conflicted  with 
the  taste  of  the  sculptor,  who  had  hard  work  to  make 
his  ideas  conform  to  the  exacting  requirements  of  Sir 
Edward.  He  says  it  was  a  great  test  of  his  perseverance, 
and  he  did  not  get  his  usual  vacation,  which  nearly  brought 
on  hypochondria.  "The  remembrance  of  such  art,"  he 
says,  "will  make  him  turn  with  more  delight  to  the  work 
on  the  Victory  for  the  Walhalla."  The  statue  was  suc- 
cessful in  England. 

Rauch  worked  more  cheerfully,  we  may  believe,  with 
Schinkel  and  Tieck  on  the  monument  to  General  Scharn- 


PORTRAIT    AND    MISCELLANEOUS    SCULPTURE          22$ 

horst  in  the  Invalid  Church  in  Berlin.  Tieck  represented 
the  life  of  the  hero  on  the  surface  of  the  sarcophagus, 
while  to  Rauch  was  intrusted  the  modelling  of  the  lions, 
which  he  studied  first  from  the  antique,  and  afterwards 
from  nature,  for  which  a  menagerie  at  Berlin  gave  him 
opportunity.  His  attention  being  thus  called  to  the  study 
of  lions,  he  did  not  rest  until  he  had  become  able  to  rep- 
resent them  according  to  his  own  thought.  He  has  mod- 
elled not  only  the  lion  in  deep  sleep,  but  the  lion  in  battle ; 
and  in  1829  he  designed  the  group  of  lion  conquerors, 
which  he  executed  thirty  years  later  for  the  staircase  of 
the  museum. 

He  gave  similar  careful  study  to  the  monarch  of  the 
air,  the  eagle.  He  carved  it  on  the  Bulow  monument, 
both  sitting  and  flying.  In  1820  he  attempted  the  heral- 
dic representation  of  the  armorial  eagle  according  to  the 
arms  of  Friedrich  I.,  which  three  years  later  was  finely 
executed  in  cast  iron,  and  placed  on  the  gates  of  all  the 
fortresses  of  the  Prussian  states.  In  1823  he  modelled  a 
free-standing  eagle  with  the  crown  for  the  gate-posts  of 
Coblenz  and  Ehrenbreitstein.  This  standing  eagle  he 
has  modelled  again  life-size  after  fresh  studies  from  nature, 
and  finally  he  has  made  it  in  smaller  size,  in  order  to  have 
it  cast  in  bronze  for  an  ornament  for  a  bookcase.  Then 
in  1844  he  modelled  for  the  finance-minister  an  eagle  in 
relief ;  and  even  in  the  last  year  of  his  life  he  made  that 
majestic  eagle  crowned  with  laurel  which  in  the  native 
land  of  the  Prussian  dynasty  adorns  the  royal  buildings 
in  Sigmaringen.  It  is  the  same  eagle  that  we  have 
already  met  on  the  monuments  of  -Billow  and  Scharn- 
horst,  but  carried  to  the  highest  perfection  by  the  con- 
tinual study  of  nature. 

In  connection  with  these  accounts  of  the  lions  and 
eagles,  which  have  something  of  an  allegorical  character, 
I  may  mention  the  two  life-sized  stags  ordered  by  the 
Grand  Duke  of  Mecklenburg-Strelitz  in  1827.  The  duke, 


226  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

who  was  a  passionate  hunter,  wished  for  these  stags  as 
ornaments  for  the  pillars  at  the  entrance  of  his  park. 
Rauch  had  little  opportunity  to  make  the  necessary  stud- 
ies, and  was  obliged  to  rely  mainly  on  the  engravings  in 
the  grand  duke's  library.  The  stags  are  represented  as 
counterparts,  the  heads  turned  towards  each  other,  and 
without  essential  differences.  The  duke  was  pleased, 
and  Rauch  was  the  only  one  dissatisfied  ;  for  he  always 
desired  to  make  thorough  work.  As  he  visited  New  Strel- 
itz  his  dissatisfaction  with  the  stags  increased,  and  at  last 
found  expression.  The  duke  promised  him  a  stag's  head, 
with  its  crown  of  horns  ;  and  when  he  at  last  killed  a  stag 
of  ten,  he  sent  it  to  Rauch  wrapped  in  a  cloth  dipped  in 
brandy.  Rauch  writes  September  21,  1835,  "It  came  to 
me  so  promptly  and  so  fresh  that  there  were  two  nice 
roasting-pieces  for  the  share  of  the  moulders,  who  drank 
your  highness's  health  in  chorus,  and  thankfully  sounded 
forth  the  merits  of  the  fine  present  ;  they  loudest  for  the 
meat,  and  I,  more  inwardly,  for  the  bones,  each  happy 
according  to  his  taste.  Before  the  banquet  the  head  was 
modelled  and  cast  in  plaster,  and  the  '  Royal  Anatomy ' 
cared  for  the  curing  and  bleaching  of  the  bones." 

Rauch  placed  the  cast  and  the  whitened  skeleton,  with 
the  antlers  attached,  in  his  atelier  for  his  own  instruction, 
and  as  a  perpetual  model  to  others,  "  so  that  in  future  in 
collections  we  may  see  the  antlers  suitably  placed,  and 
not  stuck  on  like  goats'  horns."  Rauch  repeatedly  re- 
ceived from  his  princely  patron  other  parts  of  stags,  which 
are  now  preserved  in  the  collection  of  models  at  the  Rauch 
Museum.  But  when  the  duke,  many  years  later  (in  1844), 
spoke  of  putting  the  stags  on  the  castle  in  Strelitz,  and 
the  king  also  ordered  them  for  himself,  Rauch  began  the 
thorough  revision  of  his  model ;  and  he  found  that  he  had 
to  change  almost  everything.  The  heads,  the  breasts, 
even  to  the  withers,  were  to  be  made  smaller,  and  the  legs 
had  to  be  remodelled.  With  the  help  of  his  assistant 


PORTRAIT    AND    MISCELLANEOUS    SCULPTURE          227 

Devaranne,  he  finished  the  first  model  in  February  of 
that  year,  but  not  according  to  his  wish ;  and  he  worked 
two  months  longer  on  the  careful  touching  up  before  he 
declared  the  model  finished.  Two  years  later  they  were 
cast  in  bronze,  to  guard  the  last  entrance  of  the  Wild 
Park  in  Potsdam.  Casts  of  these  stags  are  in  many  pri- 
vate grounds. 

A  very  pleasing  design  of  Rauch's,  which  showed  more 
sympathy  with  the  romantic  spirit  of  the  time  than  he 
often  yielded  to,  is  the  Yungfrau  Lorenz  and  the  stag. 
This  pleasing  legend  relates  that  the  maiden,  being  lost 
in  a  wood,  prayed  earnestly  for  deliverance,  when  a 
stag  appeared,  by  whom  she  was  carried  to  her  home. 
This  subject  was  partly  suggested  by  an  old  carving  in 
the  church  of  Tangermunde  representing  the  maiden 
hanging  between  the  antlers  of  a  stag.  The  religious 
expression  of  the  subject  harmonized  with  the  feeling  of 
the  moment,  when  the  people  were  praying  for  deliver- 
ance from  the  cholera. 

Rauch's  religious  feelings  were  direct  and  simple,  and  he 
loved  this  expression  of  confident  trust.  But  as  the  ideal 
and  real  were  always  present  in  his  mind,  he  also  enjoyed 
the  representation  of  the  stag  which  he  had  formerly 
studied  so  carefully,  when  carving  them  for  his  friend  the 
duke.  Rauch's  representation  of  the  original  as  riding 
on  the  stag  may  have  been  taken  from  ancient  coins. 
The  ease  with  which  she  rides  the  wild  creature  gives  a 
hint  of  the  miraculous  character  of  the  event.  This  group 
was  cast  in  bronze,  and  plaster  casts  were  made  and  sold 
all  over  Europe  ;  for  it  gratified  the  longing  of  the  people 
for  romantic  and  sentimental  devotion. 

Rauch  was  also  very  much  interested  in  the  art  of 
relief  in  the  stamping  of  coins  and  medallions.  He  tried 
to  establish  a  school  for  this  work,  but  did  not  receive 
much  encouragement  from  the  government.  He  suc- 
ceeded, however,  in  interesting  Beuth  of  the  Gemeinde 


228  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

Institute  in  the  plan,  and  he  secured  the  instruction  of 
three  pupils  for  three  years  in  stone-cutting.  As  early 
as  1826  he  had  received  a  commission  for  a  medallion  to 
commemorate  the  introduction  of  vaccination.  He  has 
treated  this  somewhat  prosaic  subject  with  great  sim- 
plicity and  beauty. 

An  old  physician  sits  on  a  low  bench,  while  a  young 
mother  brings  her  two  babes  for  the  protecting  ministry, 
at  which  she  looks  with  some  awe.  The  older  child,  nearly 
nude,  hardly  shrinks  from  the  touch,  but  looks  with  curi- 
osity on  the  operation,  while  the  little  one  clings  timidly 
to  the  mother's  knees.  The  cow  in  the  background  adds 
to  the  picturesqueness  of  the  group,  while  it  suggests  the 
meaning  of  the  whole. 

A  bass-relief  of  Christ  crowned  with  thorns  (I  believe 
his  only  attempt  at  that  subject)  is  full  of  health  and 
sweetness,  but  it  has  hardly  the  depth  of  expression  of 
Him  who  bore  the  sorrows  of  the  world. 

Rauch's  desire  for  ideal  work  had  not  as  yet  been  satis- 
fied. As  early  as  1820  he  had  in  his  mind  the  concep- 
tion of  a  Danaid,  and  his  day-book  notes,  "  Modelled  the 
sketches  for  a  nymph  for  the  long  bridge."  This  work 
was  never  forgotten,  although  many  interruptions  and 
delays  occurred  in  carrying  out  his  conception.  It  is 
said  that  a  very  beautiful  flower-girl,  whom  Rauch  often 
saw  sitting  in  an  archway  selling  her  flowers,  was  the 
model  of  his  first  sketch.  Rauch  was  unwearied  in  the 
study  of  a  subject  that  had  seized  on  his  imagination. 
He  often  felt  as  if  his  past  work  were  fruitless,  but  this 
feeling  stimulated  him  to  fresh  exertion  ;  for  he  was  too 
broad  and  healthy  to  yield  to  despondency. 

But  while  at  work  on  the  Danaid,  fortune  had  most  wel- 
come commissions  in  store  for  him.  The  Count  of  Hohen- 
thal,  at  Priessnitz,  ordered  a  marble  statue  of  an  Apollo 
Musagetes  for  the  monument  to  his  son  ;  and  scarcely  had 
he  designed  the  sketch  for  this,  when  a  commission  came 


PORTRAIT    AND    MISCELLANEOUS    SCULPTURE          229 

from  the  Countess  Reichenbach  to  adorn  the  staircase  of 
the  Electoral  palace  with  ten  marble  statues  and  candela- 
bra. The  subjects  were  to  be  mythological,  and  of  his 
own  choice ;  "  By  which,"  he  writes  to  Lund,  "  the  noblest 
nude  shall  be  predominant.  .  .  .  Thou  canst  not  feel,"  he 
says,  "  how  this  word  strikes  my  ear,  which  for  so  many 
years  has  heard  only  pantaiono,  and  the  which  saw  na- 
ture only  en  pantalon.  I  need  not  assure  you  how  much 
more  freely  I  shall  design  under  these  auspices." 

In  September,  1826,  he  went  to  Cassel  for  an  interview 
in  regard  to  these  works.  Agnes  accompanied  him.  He 
was  received  by  the  court  director,  the  elector,  and  the 
countess,  on  the  staircase  he  was  to  decorate ;  and  all  the 
splendors  of  the  palace  and  gardens  were  shown  to  him. 
The  contract  was  made  for  ten  marble  statues,  to  be  finished 
in  five  years,  for  forty  thousand  gulden  ;  and  four  groups, 
three  feet  high,  for  the  ornament  of  the  splendid  fireplace. 
Rauch  joyfully  wrote  to  Lund  that  he  was  delighted  with 
his  reception.  Lund  replied  to  him,  "  I  understand  how 
joyfully  you  go  to  such  work,  and  sansculottism  is 
allowable  in  art ;  but  one  who  solved  the  hard  riddle  of 
representing  modern  clothing  in  plastic  art  so  well  as  you 
have,  must  not  be  too  hostile  to  pantaloons."  In  the 
winter  of  1837  two  sketches  in  clay  of  Hero  and  Leander, 
and  one  of  Psyche,  were  finished,  and  preparations  for 
placing  them  were  already  made,  when  political  troubles 
prevented  the  elector  from  continuing  the  work.  He  left 
ungrateful  Cassel  in  anger,  and  there  was  no  more  talk 
of  the  work  for  the  palace.  Even  the  sketches  are  lost, 
and  nothing  remains  of  that  dream  of  a  future  of  ideal 
creation. 

Although  Rauch's  taste  inclined  so  strongly  to  the 
classic  in  art,  and  he  did  not  enter  fully  into  the  romantic 
sentiment  of  his  time  and  country,  and  besides  was  even 
somewhat  severe  in  his  manners,  and  strict  in  his  discipline, 
he  was  yet  full  of  affection  and  religious  feeling.  Early 


23O  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

in  life  he  had  promised  to  give  a  work  of  art  to  the  church 
in  his  native  place,  Arolsen ;  and,  being  reminded  of  his 
promise  in  1831,  he  sent  sketches  of  three  charming  stat- 
ues of  boys,  representing  Faith,  Hope,  and  Love,  for  the 
use  of  the  church. 

After  some  correspondence  in  regard  to  the  placing  of 
the  statues,  Rauch  decided  to  revisit  his  native  place, 
where  he  had  not  been  for  thirty-two  years.  He  was  re- 
ceived with  the  greatest  enthusiasm  by  his  fellow-towns- 
men, who  were  proud  of  his  renown  and  grateful  for  the 
affection  he  had  shown  them.  His  own  beautiful  letter 
will  give  the  best  idea  of  his  feelings  in  making  this 
visit  :  — 

AROLSEN,  June  2,  1844. 

"  Could  I  make  a  statue  of  the  longing,  as  I  have  felt  it  for  years,  and  now 
the  joyful  realization  of  seeing  again  Our  dear  native  town,  then  could  I  paint 
to  you,  most  worthy  friend,  the  state  of  soul,  and  all  that  moved  me  at 
the  side  of  our  friend  Schuhmacher,  as  mine  eyes  found  again  the  wooded 
hills,  the  meadows,  the  whole  view  of  the  long-desired  dear  native  town ;  but 
the  pen  cannot  do  it,  and  so  I  must  leave  it  to  your  own  feelings  to  carry  out 
these  hints.  And  then  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  first  houses,  this  unex- 
pected amphitheatre  of  images,  welcomed  by  a  crowd  of  every  age,  the  nod- 
ding of  groups  and  single  men,  that  truly  greeted  me  like  a  friend  who  had 
been  absent  only  a  day  ! 

"  How  with  wet  cheek  my  heart  beat  in  joyful  gratitude  he  only  can  feel 
with  me  who,  born  in  the  quiet  country,  educated  with  narrow  means,  —  I  must 
say  it  loud  and  clear, —  through  God's  blessing  alone,  has  reached  to  that 
which  blesses  me.  With  torchlight  procession  and  swelling  song  ended  this 
joyful  day  of  the  welcome  to  art  in  the  artist  of  the  fatherland,  so  that  I  felt 
with  true  emotion  that  every  shake  of  the  hand  was  like  a  hoppity-skip  to  a 
child.  All  which  love  can  offer  I  drained.  I  have  on  this  evening  given 
thanks  aloud  to  Heaven. 

"  And  high  honors  were  repeatedly  given  me,  and  even  the  city  accepts  me 
joyfully  among  her  citizens.  I, might  assure  you  each  one  of  my  fulness  of 
thanks  for  so  many  proofs  of  love  on  this  joyful  day  in  the  fatherland,  but 
I  cannot  speak  it  in  words.  Every  one  must  be  convinced  that  I  shall  keep 
gratefully  these  precious  hours  in  my  heart,  as  the  most  beautiful  picture  of 
my  life." 

If  he  could  not  do  it  in  words,  he  has  most  beautifully 
expressed  it  in  these  lovely  childish  figures,  in  which  we 
feel  his  religious  and  affectionate  nature  so  fully,  and  which 


PORTRAIT    AND    MISCELLANEOUS    SCULPTURE          231 

have  so  entirely  the  simplicity  of  antique  representation. 
They  became  exceedingly  popular,  and  he  repeated  them 
in  many  ways.  He  made  several  sketches  of  the  figures 
of  Hope,  one  of  which  he  designed  for  his  own  grave,  and 
one  for  that  of  his  brother. 

Kugler  said  of  the  statue  of  Love,  "  Who  could  refuse 
that  boy  anything  ?  " 

The  praying  maiden  was  another  favorite  subject  of  this 
class.  Dr.  Eggers  says  "that  he  for  the  first  time  in  plas- 
tic art  expressed  the  true  spirit  of  the  Protestant  religion, 
and  opened  a  path  for  art  that  has  been  only  very  rarely 
trodden  since."  This  again  was  accomplished  by  his  rare 
power  of  combining  the  ideal  and  the  real ;  for  the  best 
spirit  of  Protestantism  blends  fidelity  to  the  duties  of  this 
world  with  the  hope  of  the  future. 

There  is  something  very  touching  in  the  thought  of  this 
circle  of  youthful  figures  in  which  the  gray-haired  man 
has  expressed  the  love  and  faith  of  his  soul,  after  he  had 
completed  the  grand  monument  of  the  stormy  days  of  his 
youth,  in  which  the  conquests  of  the  sword  rather  than 
of  the  spirit  are  celebrated.  It  shows  how  in  passing 
on  towards  the  kingdom  of  heaven  he  was  becoming 
again  as  a  little  child  in  his  love  of  tender  and  beautiful 
themes,  yet  losing  nothing  of  his  skill  and  expression. 

This  class  of  work  fitly  began  with  the  Francke  monu- 
ment, and  his  progress  is  shown  in  the  beautiful  boy  with 
the  shell.  It  seemed  as  if  the  antique  spirit,  which  does 
not  seek  to  express  an  unreal  sentimentality,  but  the  natu- 
ral, healthy  life  of  childhood,  had  again  returned  to  us. 
The  well-known  antique  group  of  the  boy  and  goose  is 
a  happy  instance  of  this  feeling.  The  children  of  the 
Francke  group  are  not  wholly  free  from  sentimentality, 
perhaps  because  they  are  charity  children.  But  the  "  noble 
three  "  are  fully  in  the  Greek  style.  Rauch  has  given 
them  only  the  simplest  attributes,  letting  them  tell  their 
own  story  in  attitude  and  expression.  His  Protestant  sim- 


232  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

plicity  is  shown  in  this,  and  also  in  the  fact  that,  instead 
of  the  cross,  Faith  holds  the  open  Bible.  Hope  only  is 
winged  :  she  bears  us  upward.  In  one  nude  sketch  the 
upraised  arms  alone  express  the  outreaching  to  that  which 
is  beyond. 

These  childlike  expressions  of  great  truths  forcibly  re- 
call to  us  William  Blake's  exquisitely  simple  verses,  one  of 
which  might  form  a  fitting  motto  for  Ranch's  statues  :  — 

"  For  Mercy  has  a  human  heart, 

Pity  a  human  face ; 
And  Love  the  human  form  divine, 
And  Peace  the  human  dress." 


CONDITION    OF    ART    IN    GERMANY  233 


CHAPTER   XII 

CONDITION    OF    ART    IN    GERMANY.  WALHALLA    AND 

VICTORIES 

1830-1857 

BEFORE  continuing  the  account  of  Rauch's  great  works 
in  sculpture,  I  must,  under  the  lead  of  our  accomplished 
guide,  Dr.  Eggers,  take  a  brief  survey  of  the  conditions 
of  politics,  literature,  and  art  in  Germany  and  Europe. 
This  will  be  the  more  interesting  to  us  as  we  now  come 
upon  familiar  ground,  when  German  art  began  to  attract 
attention  in  this  country. 

Europe  was  in  a  state  of  great  unrest.  "  The  news  of 
misfortunes  in  France  press  one  upon  another,"  wrote 
Rauch  in  his  day-book  on  the  fifth  of  August.  At  a  tea- 
party  at  the  house  of  the  crown  princess,  at  which  Rauch 
was  present,  he  heard  the  event  of  the  Revolution  of  July, 
the  dethronement  of  the  king,  the  unfolding  of  the  tri- 
color, and  the  appointment  of  the  Duke  of  Orleans  as 
lieutenant-general  of  the  kingdom. 

The  uneasiness  in  the  higher  circles  increased,  as  the 
symptoms  of  excitement  among  the  lower  orders  on  that 
side  of  the  Rhine  might  prove  kindling  sparks  in  Ger- 
many. Belgium  at  the  same  time  had  violently  separated 
from  Holland.  Disturbances  of  the  work-people  were 
taking  place,  and  the  contagion  was  spreading  over  the 
German  border.  Even  Berlin,  on  the  seventeenth  of  Sep- 
tember, had  its  tailors'  uproarious  feast,  in  which  the  Field- 
Marshal  Diebitsch-Sabalkanski,  whose  bust  Rauch  was 
then  making  for  the  Walhalla,  with  difficulty  escaped  the 


234  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

sabre  blows  of  the  armed  crowd  who  went  out  of  the  palace 
yard,  which  he  had  unsuspiciously  entered  in  common 
citizen's  dress. 

There  was  a  general  uproar  and  fear  throughout  Ger- 
many and  Europe.  "The  great  states  were  in  fear  of 
a  general  war,  and  the  little  ones  of  a  powerful  inward 
convulsion." 

These  events  acted  differently  on  the  French  and  Ger- 
man minds.  While  the  French  sought  to  express  their 
ideas  in  action,  and  an  immediate  change  of  institutions, 
the  Germans  found  expression  in  songs,  speeches,  and  pro- 
cessions ;  working  less  violently,  but  quite  as  powerfully 
through  all  literature  and  life.  "The  struggle,"  says  Dr. 
Eggers,  "was  less  bloody,  but  not  less  bitter."  Unlike  the 
French  the  Germans  delayed  long  between  a  decision  and 
an  action.  Deeds  of  violence  are  not  conformable  to  the 
spirit  of  the  German  people,  and  the  July  Revolution  of 
France  was  re-echoed  by  May  festivals  and  songs  and 
shouts. 

Political  feelings  found  their  expression  in  national  lit- 
erature, as  it  had  already  prepared  the  way  for  them.  How 
rich  was  the  French  romance-writing  of  the  epoch  of 
the  July  Revolution  which,  indeed,  such  writers  as  Victor 
Hugo,  George  Sand,  Dumas,  Sue,  and  others  had  largely 
helped  to  produce.  In  Germany  political  events  had  not 
yet  come  to  their  ripeness,  and  much  of  the  popular  writ- 
ing was  vague  and  formless.  But  one  word  came  into 
prominence  which  was  more  than  a  whole  book.  Men 
began  to  talk  about  Young  Germany ;  and  although  the 
growing  boy  was  often  as  noisy,  inconsequent,  and  obstrep- 
erous as  boys  are  apt  to  be,  yet  they  are  after  all  good 
stuff  to  make  men  of  ;  and  it  was  from  this  new,  young,  rich 
life  that  a  strong,  manly  national  spirit  might  be  hoped 
for. 

It  is  almost  impossible  to  give  in  brief  space  an  idea 
of  the  intense  feeling  between  the  romanticists  and  the 


CONDITION    OF    ART    IN    GERMANY  235 

classicists,  which  under  differing  forms  now  agitated  the 
literary  and  artistic  world.  Rauch,  whose  temperament 
was  calm  and  healthy,  and  whose  great  merit  was  the  admi- 
rable balance  of  the  spiritual  and  the  natural  in  his  thought, 
had  not  looked  without  interest  on  this  new  phase  of  art, 
and  had  even  "paid  tribute  to  it"  in  the  statue  of  the 
"Jungfrau  Lorenz."  But  he  was  shocked  at  the  extrava- 
gances of  the  times,  and  especially  at  the  suicide  of  Char- 
lotte Stieglitz,  who  killed  herself  in  a  fanciful  belief  that  it 
would  restore  her  husband's  mental  health.  The  husband 
appears  to  have  been  a  countryman  of  Rauch,  and  he  ex- 
claimed, "What  a  disgusting  delusion!"  But  romanti- 
cism appeared  in  a  better  light  in  French  art,  in  throwing 
off  the  dry  classicism  of  David  and  his  school  for  the  fresh, 
vigorous  life  of  Gericault,  as  shown  in  his  great  picture 
of  "The  Shipwreck  of  the  Medusa."  Escaping  the  worst 
extremes,  the  French  romantic  school  in  Delacroix  took  a 
new  and  noble  direction  in  historic  art. 

While  the  lyrical  and  subjective  movement  predomi- 
nated in  German  art,  the  French  romanticists  devoted 
themselves  to  portraying  the  real,  passionate  movements 
of  human  nature  in  the  actual  events  of  history  and  of 
life. 

We  may  date  from  Wilhelm  von  Schadow's  appoint- 
ment as  director  of  the  Dusseldorf  Academy  the  rise  of 
that  school  which  some  years  later  aroused  so  much  in- 
terest in  America,  and  exercised  an  evident  influence  on 
our  artists  of  that  period.  Eggers  calls  it  "  the  turning- 
point  whence  the  new  German  art  began  to  unfold  in  all 
directions."  He  traces  its  birthplace  to  that  room  in 
Rome  which  Cornelius,  Overbeck,  Veit,  and  Schadow 
adorned  with  biblical  frescos.  At  this  time  the  move- 
ment was  decidedly  of  a  religious  character,  according  to 
the  general  interpretation.  Cornelius  was  ambitious  of 
the  title  of  Christian  painter.  And  it  is  said  that  Veit, 
the  director  of  the  "  Stadel  Institute,"  resigned  his  office 


236  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

because  the  institute  had  bought  Lessing's  "  Martyrdom 
of  Huss."  Cornelius  was  about  to  leave  Munich,  where 
he  had  some  friction  with  Klenze,  when  the  king  again 
bound  him  there  by  the  commission  for  the  frescos  of 
the  Ludwig  Church,  which  were  in  his  own  line.  The 
royal  patron,  whose  motto  was,  "  The  painter  must  know 
how  to  paint,"  cared  for  no  particular  school ;  but  he  was 
anxious  to  have  the  decorations  finished  that  year.  Nu- 
merous helpers  were  engaged.  Some  of  them  united  with 
Cornelius  in  thinking  that  only  the  ideal  meaning  of  a 
picture  was  the  true  measure  of  its  worth.  So  Schnorr 
von  Carolsfelt,  Kaulbach,  Genelli,  Schwind,  and  even 
Preller,  worked  with  Cornelius,  even  if  the  personal  re- 
lation was  not  close.  Lund  writes  to  Rauch  "that  he 
cannot  think  that  Cornelius  is  in  his  true  place  as  director 
of  an  academy ;  that  in  which  his  superiority  consists  he 
cannot  impart  to  others,  and  that  which  can  be  taught  he 
does  not  understand  thoroughly."  On  the  other  hand, 
Wilhelm  Schadow  valued  correctness  of  drawing  and  color. 
"  Schadow  is  not  the  hero,"  said  Ranch;  "but  those  he 
leads  become  so." 

With  the  increase  of  genre-painting,  and  the  representa- 
tion of  familiar  scenes  in  life,  a  sense  of  humor  came  in, 
which  helped  to  extend  the  influence  of  art  in  various 
ranks  of  life.  Schrodter  and  Hasenclever  became  popular 
from  this  cause.  Rauch  speaks  warmly  of  many  of  the 
new  pictures  as,  "Sohn's  '  Hylas  with  the  Nymphs'1  is  one 
of  the  most  beautiful  late  works  I  have  seen."  He  praises 
Lessing's  "  Uhland's  King,"  both  for  its  grandeur  and  its 
technical  excellence ;  and  he  also  speaks  of  the  excellent 
landscapes  of  some  of  the  Dusseldorf  school.  The  French 
claimed  the  Dusseldorf  school  as  French,  and  the  German 
artists  blamed  the  Schadowish  works  as  "too  French;" 
but  they  excited  great  interest  in  Berlin,  and  Rauch  said 
of  Begas,  "  I  believe  that  nobody  paints  a  better  picture." 

1  In  the  Berlin  Museum. 


CONDITION    OF    ART    IN    GERMANY  237 

To  understand  Rauch's  work  thoroughly,  and  the  great 
service  he  rendered  to  modern,  and  especially  plastic  art, 
it  is  necessary  to  go  a  little  way  into  the  history  and 
philosophy  of  this  subject ;  for  it  was  his  great  merit  that 
he  united  the  true  idealism,  which  he  gained  from  his 
profound  study  of  Greek  art,  with  the  genuine  realism 
won  from  his  keen  eye  for  all  natural  beauty,  and  with 
his  hearty  sympathy  with  human  life.  His  own  healthy, 
manly  nature  expresses  itself  in  his  work,  which  is  both 
robust  and  tender,  full  of  the  strength  and  joy  of  exist- 
ence, and  yet  not  deformed  by  servile  imitation,  even  of 
life. 

The  terms  idealism,  realism,  naturalism,  etc.,  must  be 
used  ;  a  definition  of  them  given  by  Dr.  Eggers  seems 
sufficient  to  guide  us  in  our  further  study  of  Rauch's 
sculpture. 

"  Realism  can  boast  of  very  old  recognition  as  the 
principle  of  art.  No  less  men  than  Plato  and  Aristotle 
place  the  essential  of  art  in  imitation.  Leaving  aside 
the  aesthetic  worth  of  this  principle,  what  interests  us 
now  is  the  main  idea.  Imitation  is  the  determining 
point ;  in  as  far  as  in  an  artistic  creation  somewhat  is 
imitated,  it  is  realistic ;  in  as  far  as  something  is  added  to 
it  out  of  the  creative  fancy,  it  is  idealistic ;  but  if  we  have 
the  most  exact  copy  conceivable  of  the  naked  fact,  in- 
different whether  it  be  beautiful  or  ugly,  charming  or  disa- 
greeable, then  we  stand  before  naturalism."  He  goes  on 
to  illustrate  this  point  by  showing  how  realism  and  ideal- 
ism are  combined  in  the  works  of  Diarer,  Paul  Veronese, 
etc.  He  shows  how  their  works  are  realistic  in  their 
treatment,  and  yet  ideal  in  their  conception  ;  and  he  con- 
cludes by  saying,  "We  must  not  treat  these  ideas  like 
drawers  in  which  to  sort  out  different  men  and  schools  ; 
but  we  must  use  them  as  measuring-rods  to  determine 
the  aesthetic  value  of  an  artistic  production." 

This  controversy  in  art,  which  raged  so  wildly  both  in 


238  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

France  and  Germany,  was  coincident  with,  and  indeed  a 
part  of,  the  great  revolutionary  struggle  which  ended  the 
triumph  of  reaction  and  placed  the  citizen-king  on  the 
throne  of  France.  Rauch  was  deeply  interested  in  all 
these  events.  David  d'Angiers  was  the  great  leader  in 
modern  French  sculpture.  An  early  prottgj  of  David, 
and  a  pensioner  of  the  academy  at  Rome,  his  early  course 
was  in  favor  of  classicism,  and  he  was  a  strong  opponent 
of  realism.  He  could  not  escape  the  strong  impulse  of 
the  time,  however,  and  in  1830,  for  the  first  time,  he  con- 
sented to  the  use  of  the  modern  costume  in  sculpture. 
D'Angiers  had  known  Rauch  in  the  student  days  at 
Rome.  In  1829,  having  heard  that  Goethe  was  beginning 
to  grow  old,  D'Angiers  hastened  to  Weimar  to  make  a 
bust  of  the  poet.  He  was  thus  brought  into  comparison 
with  Rauch.  D'Angiers  himself  had  no  doubt  of  his 
triumph,  both  as  regards  the  likeness  and  the  ideal  con- 
ception of  the  work.  This  is  the  astonishing  bust  in  the 
library  at  Weimar,  of  which  the  old  master  Gottfried 
Schadow  said,  "  The  high  raised  skull,  and  some  other  to 
us  very  strange  handling  of  the  features  and  of  the  hair, 
excited  in  us  German  artists  more  astonishment  than  ad- 
miration ; "  and  Rietschel  said,  "  What  has  D'Angiers 
made  out  of  this  head  ?  It  is  hard  to  get  free  from  the 
impression  that  it  may  not  trouble  one's  nights."  In  1833 
Rauch  entered  into  new  relations  with  D'Angiers,  as  he 
sent  him  his  sketches  for  the  monument  of  General  Foy. 
Rauch  was  especially  pleased  with  the  idea  of  represent- 
ing the  epoch  by  the  individual  forms  of  the  general's 
friends,  who  were  continually  about  him,  even  until  his 
death.  He  afterwards  used  this  plan  in  his  monument 
to  Frederic  the  Great.  He  asked  D'Angiers  to  contribute 
to  the  Berlin  Exhibition,  and  sent  him  his  own  reliefs 
for  the  Blticher  monument,  whose  originality  pleased  the 
French  artist  so  much,  that  he  interested  himself  to 
get  a  representation  of  Ranch's  work  in  the  Paris  Salon. 


CONDITION    OF    ART    IN    GERMANY  239 

"  Der  betende  Knabe"  was  chosen  for  this  purpose,  and  it 
was  well  placed  in  Madame  Baudin's  salon,  which  was  con- 
secrated to  his  works.  This  was  a  marble  reproduction 
of  the  praying  child  of  the  Francke  monument. 

D'Angiers  is  astonished  that  Rauch  does  not  put  his 
name  on  his  works.  "  Votre  nom  doit  tenir  une  place  trop 
honorable  dans  la  memoire  des  hommes,  pour  en  priver 
qiielques  uns  de  vos  ouvrages."  A  year  later  D'Angiers 
visited  Berlin,  and  made  a  bust  of  Rauch,  on  which  he 
spent  eighteen  hours  out  of  his  three  weeks  in  Berlin.1 
"  It  has  very  strong  peculiarities,  especially  in  the  over- 
height  of  the  brow,  and  in  the  corners*  of  the  hair.  The 
expression  has  something  austere,  which  Rauch  had  not 
even  in  his  most  earnest  moments."  Rauch  writes  to 
Rietschel :  "  D'Angiers  has  to-day  finished  my  bust :  it  is 
more  than  life-size ;  like  and  characteristic,  and  of  great 
interest  to  all  of  us.  It  is  going  to  Paris  to  be  executed 
in  Pyrenean  marble.  I  am  really  ashamed  of  this  ;  such  a 
distinction  from  friends  in  a  strange  land  I  could  not  ex- 
pect. I  think  I  have  learned  something  from  him  about 
the  working  of  the  skin."  D'Angiers  makes  free  com- 
ment on  all  he  sees  in  Berlin,  and  he  wrote  to  Alexander 
von  Humboldt  :  "  Croyez  moi  pour  reunir  le  style  et  r ex- 
pression de  la  vie,  votre  Ranch,  je  le  dis  partout,  est  bien 
superieur  a  Thorwaldsen" 

A  correspondence  of  twenty  years  shows  how  much 
artistic  sympathy  there  was  between  these  two  men  ;  yet 
however  closely  they  agreed  in  their  high  aims,  D' Angiers's 
manner  of  expression  remained  always  foreign  to  Rauch, 
and  had  no  other  effect  on  him  than  to  make  him  cling 
still  closer  to  his  own  conception  of  the  ideal  in  plastic  art. 

The  recognition  of  Rauch's  merit  by  the  French  is 
shown  not  only  by  his  election  as  associate  member  of  the 
Academic  Roy  ale  des  Beaux  Arts  in  1830,  and  his  full 

1  This  interesting  bust,  given  by  Rauch  by  will  to  Prince  George  Victor  of  Waldeck, 
stands  now  in  the  princely  library  of  the  residence  castle  at  Cassel. 

2  The  so-called  "  poets'  corner." 


240  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

election  in  1883,  but  also  by  the  fact  that  Ingres  asks 
his  judgment  of  his  latest  work,  and  that  Lemaire,  who 
had  lately  won  the  victory  in  a  concurrence  for  the  frieze 
of  the  Madeleine,  thought  it  necessary  to  ask  for  Rauch's 
recommendation  in  order  to  secure  his  presentation  to  the 
membership  made  vacant  by  the  death  of  Cortot. 

Another  tendency  in  art  which  appeared  at  this  time, 
and  which  was  very  distasteful  to  Rauch,  was  represented 
by  Schwanthaler,  who  gained  the  name  of  "  Fa-Presto  "  for 
his  celerity  in  producing  large  works  of  sculpture.  Rauch 
writes,  "  King  Ludwig  was  the  intellectual  author  of  this 
style  of  plastigue,  with  whom  the  principal  demand  was, 
much  and  quick."  Rauch  could  readily  see  how  the  de- 
sire to  ornament  his  capital  speedily  should  have  led  the 
king  in  this  direction  ;  but  he  was  thorough  in  his  own 
work,  and  abhorred  anything  like  slurring  it  over.  He 
could  not  understand  giving  the  marble  entirely  into 
strange  hands.  Thirty  assistants  were  kept  busy  on  the 
gable-ends  of  the  Walhalla,  and  the  work  was  almost  en- 
tirely given  up  to  them.  Abundance  of  money  spent  in 
this  way  seemed  only  to  hasten  art  in  its  downward  course, 
while  Rauch  was  carefully  building  up  a  school  of  young 
sculptors  at  Berlin,  "who,"  says  Dr.  Eggers,  "with  their 
master,  for  more  than  a  generation  led  not  the  German 
alone,  but  the  finest  plastic  art  of  our  times." 

The  course  of  sculpture  had  been  different  from  that 
of  painting  ;  for  under  the  lead  of  Thorwaldsen  and  Canova 
the  influence  of  classicism  was  very  strong.  But  it  was 
impossible  that  such  a  great  change  in  the  political  world 
should  take  place,  such  an  uprising  of  the  people  and 
recognition  of  their  life  as  of  superior  importance  to  that 
of  thrones  and  dynasties,  without  affecting  every  art. 
This  appeared  in  sculpture  in  the  demand  for  the  use  of 
modern  drapery  instead  of  the  old  Greek  costume,  to 
which  even  Thorwaldsen  had  sometimes  to  yield.  Rauch 
accepted  the  situation,  although  with  some  reluctance, 


CONDITION    OF    ART    IN    GERMANY  24! 

and  devoted  much  thought  to  the  solution  of  this  problem, 
how  to  unite  truth  to  history  with  grace  and  beauty.  He 
thus  became  the  creator  of  this  school  of  national  plastic 
art,  which  took  its  meaning  from  the  national  life,  while 
its  form  retained  the  purity  and  beauty  of  the  Greek  art. 
The  slow  ripening  of  Rauch's  own  artistic  powers  had 
fitted  him  to  meet  the  influences  of  the  time  without 
being  carried  away  by  them.  He  never  lost  his  power 
of  receiving  new  impressions  and  thoughts  ;  but  he  had 
learned  to  judge  them  wisely  in  the  light  of  wide  knowl- 
edge and  long  experience.  While  he  shows  very  little  of 
national  prejudice  against  the  French,  and  eagerly  learns 
from  their  artists,  whose  great  merit  he  often  acknowl- 
edges, he  was  very  little  influenced  by  the  French  move- 
ments in  art.  His  own  direction  became  clear  to  him  ; 
and,  while  he  gathered  from  others,  he  never  lost  his  own 
personality.  On  the  other  hand,  the  French  artists  gave 
him  generous  sympathy  and  appreciation. 

As  little  was  he  swept  out  of  his  course  by  the  eager- 
ness of  his  early  friend  King  Ludwig  for  rapid  work.  He 
could  not  understand  Schwanthaler's  willingness  to  make 
a  new  model  for  the  Walhalla  every  six  weeks,  and  then 
commit  the  execution  entirely  to  others. 

In  his  atelier  the  law  of  moderation  prevailed,  and  the 
most  thorough  execution  was  held  to  be  essential  to  the 
true  development  of  the  ideal  thought  of  a  statue. 

At  this  period  Rauch  had  arrived  at  a  point  in  his  art 
when  his  acknowledged  successes  in  the  works  he  had 
already  made,  his  clear  convictions  of  the  true  princi- 
ples of  art  which  he  had  learned  from  his  classic  studies, 
and  his  wide  acquaintance  with  the  best  work  and  life  of 
his  own  time,  fitted  him  for  new  achievements,  — for  the 
grand  circle  of  Victories  with  which  he  adorned  the  Wal- 
halla, and  for  many  other  noble  works  which  add  glory  to 
his  native  land. 

Having   lived    through   the    disastrous    period    of   the 


242  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

Napoleonic  wars,  and  sympathized  deeply  with  his  king 
and  his  country,  having  entered  with  his  whole  soul 
into  the  war  for  freedom,  and  consecrated  his  best  powers 
through  middle-life  to  the  commemoration  of  its  great 
heroes,  Rauch  now  had  an  opportunity  of  illustrating  his 
beautiful  faith,  "  that  what  one  wishes  in  youth,  one  has 
the  fulness  of  in  old  age,"  by  the  opportunity  for  a  great 
work,  which  should  combine  his  never-faltering  love  of 
classic  art  with  his  joy  in  the  reviving  life  of  his  country. 
He  found  the  expression  of  all  this  feeling  in  the  ancient 
Nike,  "the  Victory  which  wakens  the  heroic  spirit,  en- 
courages the  combatant,  and  gives  wreaths  and  palms  to 
the  victor." 

But  Rauch  did  not  merely  copy  the  Greek  :  he  infused 
into  this  Greek  form  the  modern  spirit,  and  his  Victories 
have  the  life  of  the  great  deliverance  which  his  country 
had  just  passed  through.  He  has  used  this  form  of  rep- 
resentation more  than  thirty  times,  and  especially  fine  are 
the  splendid  forms  which  adorn  the  German  Temple  of 
Fame,  the  Walhalla  at  Regensburg. 

With  all  his  strong  classical  leanings,  Rauch  was  not 
insensible  to  the  spirit  of  the  age  in  which  he  lived;  and 
now  he  saw  how  he  could  unite  the  spirit  of  classic  art 
with  the  reviving  life  of  his  country,  which  for  a  century 
had  been  dominated  by  foreign  influences  in  literature, 
art,  and  even  politics. 

Here  Dr.  Eggers  finds  the  strong  contrast  with  Thor- 
waldsen,  whose  mission  was  essentially  to  restore  the  spirit 
of  Greek  art.  No  strong  national  feeling  gave  him  a  new 
ideal,  and  love  is  the  subject  of  his  creative  power  from 
the  beginning  to  the  end  of  his  career.  As  Thorwaldsen 
has  given  us  more  than  sixty  representations  of  Love,  so 
Rauch,  who  found  his  inspiration  in  national  feeling,  has 
expressed  this  over  and  over  again  in  his  Victories,  in 
reliefs,  busts,  and  statues. 

As  early  as  1811  the  young  Prince  of  Bavaria  had  con- 


CONDITION    OF    ART    IN    GERMANY  243 

ceived  the  idea  of  the  great  national  Temple  of  Fame, 
the  Walhalla,  and  had  given  to  Rauch  a  commission  for 
a  bust.  When  Ludwig  became  king,  he  wished  to  take 
Rauch  into  his  service,  and  to  establish  a  great  school  of 
plastic  art  in  Munich  ;  but  Rauch  wisely  preferred  to  re- 
main in  Berlin. 

On  Ranch's  return  from  Italy,  King  Ludwig  wished 
him  to  make  six  figures  for  the  interior  of  the  Walhalla, 
some  partly  sitting,  some  standing,  which  should  be 
wholly  his  own  work.  But  Rauch  could  not  meet  the 
eager  wishes  of  the  king,  feeling  obliged  to  return  at 
once  to  Berlin.  However,  he  had  an  interview  with 
Klenze,  the  architect  in  Bologna,  and  agreed  with  him 
for  the  work  he  would  do  for  the  Walhalla. 

He  agreed  upon  the  style  and  design  of  the  group 
for  the  front  gable,  so  that  it  could  be  safely  finished  by 
younger  men,  also  for  the  six  marble  statues,  of  which  one 
was  to  be  finished  each  year,  and  that  the  whole  should 
be  ready  by  October  I,  1836. 

Rauch,  who  was  full  of  delight  at  the  idea  of  being  able 
to  express  his  ideal  of  womanly  beauty  in  nude  figures, 
made  a  sketch  of  a  Victory,  which  he  sent  to  the  king. 
It  was  a  sitting  figure,  almost  entirely  nude,  and  holding 
in  her  right  hand  a  laurel  wreath,  and  in  her  left  a  palm 
branch.  But  the  king  objected  "that  the  nude,  however 
it  might  suit  antiquity,  did  not  fit  in  here ; "  and  Klenze 
wished  Rauch  to  consider  the  relation  to  the  general 
architecture,  and  to  the  places  designed  for  the  statues. 
The  details  of  the  contract  caused  much  discussion,  and 
the  king  unwillingly  consented  to  having  the  work  done 
in  Berlin,  as  he  was  in  great  haste  to  have  it  finished. 
Ranch  began  the  work  in  1831.  The  first  sketch  of  the 
gable  group,  of  which  Rauch  himself  speaks  with  satisfac- 
tion, pleased  the  king.  The  principal  figure  is  the  Ger- 
man ia,  with  the  throne  and  sword  ;  the  side  figures  consist 
of  two  groups  of  warriors,  representing  Prussia  and  Han- 


244  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

nover,  Austria,  and  Bavaria,  swearing  fealty  to  Germany, 
with  female  figures  indicating  the  fortresses  of  Cologne, 
Luxembourg,  Mainz,  and  Landau.  Two  other  groups  of 
sitting  female  figures  represent  Wiirtemberg  on  one  side, 
and  on  the  other,  Hesse  and  the  other  small  states. 

The  king  consented  that  the  execution  of  the  statues 
should  be  confided  to  Rietschel,  on  the  condition  that  one 
of  the  groups  should  be  made  in  Rauch's  atelier. 

But  the  chamber  of  deputies  objected  to  giving  this 
important  commission  to  a  foreigner,  and  in  the  following 
year  refused,  by  a  large  majority,  to  grant  the  money  for 
the  building  of  the  Walhalla  and  the  finishing  of  the 
Pinakothek.  The  king,  however,  was  able  to  take  the 
necessary  sums  from  the  civil  list  so  that  the  work  could 
go  on. 

As  Rauch  proceeded  with  the  modelling  of  the  statues, 
there  was  much  discussion  in  regard  to  the  drapery  and 
accessories.  The  fourth  Victory  was  very  much  admired, 
and  considered  the  finest  yet  made.  It  was  draped  except 
on  the  arm  and  breast,  but  the  king  objected  even  to  this 
degree  of  nudity,  and  Rauch  was  almost  in  despair  over 
his  persistency  on  this  point.  Yet  the  king  had  the 
authority  of  Greek  coins ;  and  even  the  coin  of  Terina, 
from  which  Rauch  seems  to  have  drawn  the  idea  of  his 
wreath-throwing  Victory,  is  represented  as  fully  draped. 
In  1834  the  first  sitting  Victory  is  put  into  marble.  The 
block  for  the  second  is  brought  to  the  workshop  ;  but  while 
the  marble  is  spotless,  it  has  been  cut  away  full  six  inches 
too  much  above  the  heel,  so  that  there  is  not  material 
enough  for  the  limb,  and  Rauch  is  greatly  troubled ;  but 
by  skilful  management  he  makes  up  for  the  defect,  and  as 
usual  is  jubilant  over  a  difficulty  conquered. 

When  King  Friedrich  Wilhelm  visited  the  atelier  in 
1835,  Rauch  was  able  to  show  him  four  Victories  in  dif- 
ferent stages  of  completion,  and  to  tell  him  of  their  desti- 
nation for  Munich.  "That's  a  king,"  said  the  monarch 


VICTORY,  VALHALLA 


CONDITION    OF    ART    IN    GERMANY  245 

jokingly,  "  that  orders  something  that  gets  done."  These 
winged  marble  figures  fortunately  made  a  pleasant  im- 
pression on  the  king,  which  to  Rauch's  great  joy  brought 
similar  orders  from  him.  But  for  two  years  Rauch  laid 
aside  almost  entirely  the  work  for  the  Walhalla,  because 
he  was  engaged  on  the  Diirer  monument ;  but  he  took  it 
up  again  in  the  year  1837.  Klenze  calls  his  attention  to 
the  wings  of  the  Victories,  which  stand  out  too  far  from 
the  wall  and  thus  hurt  the  architectural  effect.  He  also 
hints  that  a  northern  Victory  should  suggest  the  Walkyrie, 
and  that  the  oak  branch  might  be  substituted  for  the 
palm.  Rauch  accepts  this  suggestion,  and  the  next  two 
Victories  bear  oak  wreaths  and  branches.  The  king  was 
constantly  urging  expedition  in  .completing  the  work, 
although  Klenze  said  that  such  haste  was  not  necessary, 
for  the  Walhalla  could  not  be  consecrated  until  October 
1 8,  1842.  In  July  the  six  marble  statues  were  exhibited 
in  Berlin  for  three  weeks,  for  the  benefit  of  the  restoration 
of  the  Cologne  Cathedral ;  and  in  August  a  load  of  marble 
weighing  a  hundred  and  seventy  hundred-weight  passed 
through  the  streets  of  Berlin  towards  Regensburg. 

On  the  first  of  September,  Rauch,  with  his  daughter 
Agnes  and  her  husband,  went  to  Donaustauf.  In  the 
afternoon  they  went  to  the  Walhalla.  Here  they  were 
received  by  the  builder  Estner,  who  had  kept  charge  of 
the  work  for  fifteen  years  ;  and  the  splendid  bronze  doors 
were  opened  to  them.  Rauch  says  in  his  diary  :  "  I  found 
the  six  statues  on  their  stagings  near  the  place  of  erec- 
tion, all  freed  from  the  boxes,  and  not  injured  in  the  least. 
The  impression  of  the  whole  on  us  was  above  all  magnifi- 
cent, such  as  was  never  seen ;  the  novelty  and  beauty  of 
the  materials,  the  finished  work,  praising  alike  the  builder 
and  the  architect,  such  as  has  never  been  accomplished  in 
Germany  in  any  time." 

"  So,  then,"  says  Dr.  Eggers,  "  the  cycle  of  victory  of 
the  Walhalla  remained  as  it  was  created  in  eleven  years' 


246  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

work,  not  as  it  was  formed  out  of  the  free  thought  of  the 
artist's  fancy,  but  bound  by  conditions  which  showed 
themselves  in  the  results,  not  as  fetters,  but  as  fruitful 
elements  of  creative  activity."  This  was  truly  working 
.  in  the  Greek  spirit,  making  limitations  the  sources  of 
new  power.  His  majesty  was  so  well  pleased  with  the 
statues  that  he  wished  no  change  in  them.  Rauch  was 
unable  to  remain  until  the  ceremony  of  dedication,  which 
took  place  on  the  eighteenth  of  October. 

Rauch  had  wished  for  free  creation,  based  indeed  on 
Greek  models,  but  infused  with  the  national  feeling. 
Klenze  on  the  contrary  wished  only  decorative  figures 
in  strict  relation  to  the  architecture.  The  king  finally 
took  a  middle  course.  The  bounds,  which  according 
to  Klenze  were  prescribed  by  the  laws  of  architecture, 
should  not  fetter,  but  guide  the  artist's  fancy,  and  indeed 
should  lead  back  to  the  antique,  in  which  the  master- 
pieces of  plastic  art  were  created.  Hence,  on  the  side 
of  architecture,  he  demanded  the  repose  of  the  figures, 
whether  sitting  or  standing  ;  and  he  refused  to  permit 
nude  figures,  constantly  demanding  more  drapery,  and 
objecting  to  all  characteristic  attributes,  except  the  gar- 
land and  the  laurel  branch. 

The  more  Rauch  was  thus  circumscribed  in  the  outer 
form  of  his  ideas,  the  more  powerfully  did  he  turn  to  the 
expression  of  the  inner  life  ;  and  thus  arose  the  forms 
of  the  Victory,  mighty  in  their  beauty,  which  "  fill  the 
temple  with  a  grand  hymn  of  victory,  sung  in  strophes 
and  antistrophes." 

The  difficulties  of  the  task  were  overcome  in  many 
ways.  It  was  a  question  how  to  unite  the  wings  with  the 
draped  figures.  As  the  statues  were  seen  only  in  front, 
or  in  profile,  the  wings  appeared  behind  the  figure  as  a 
symbol,  and  awakened  no  question  of  organic  connection  ; 
and  where  the  statue  was  more  fully  seen,  the  folds  were 
so  arranged  as  not  to  interfere  with  the  placing  of  the 
wings. 


CONDITION    OF    ART    IN    GERMANY  247 

He  composed  the  statues  without  the  wings,  and  could 
thus  use  each  of  his  Victories  among  his  wingless  Nikes. 
He  wrote  to  Lund,  to  whom  he  sent  a  cast  of  his  wreath- 
throwing  Victory  :  "  I  leave  out  the  wings  :  they  are  only 
an  embarrassment." 

It  would  seem  almost  impossible  to  make  six  repeti- 
tions of  so  simple  a  subject  with  so  little  variation  in 
the  accessories,  without  making  them  monotonous ;  but 
these  bright,  lithe,  graceful  Victories  have  each  their  own 
charm,  and  it  is  difficult  to  prefer  one  to  another.  In  the 
middle  of  the  right  wall  sits  the  grand  figure,  with  the 
legs  lightly  crossed,  the  drapery  falling  in  long  folds,  and 
the  head  crowned  with  laurel,  looking  thoughtfully  into 
the  distance,  while  the  light,  elastic  arm  holds  a  laurel 
wreath.  As  Rauch  said,  "  In  her,  waiting  is  expressed." 
The  way  to  her  is  steep  :  she  is  ready  to  give  the  prize  ; 
but  the  prize  is  costly,  and  she  waits  till  the  last  struggle 
is  over,  and  the  brow  is  ready  for  the  royal  crown. 

Opposite  sits  the  wreath-throwing  sister,  in  whom 
"  attentive  looking  down  from  the  height  into  the  imme- 
diate struggle  is  indicated."  She  has  paused  a  moment 
in  her  flight,  and  alighted  on  a  rock,  while  she  follows  the 
battle  with  her  eyes,  and  is  ready  to  throw*  the  wreath  to 
the  victor.  She  is  a  beautiful  picture  of  joy  in  victory. 
The  companion  on  the  other  side  has  flown  down  from 
Olympus,  and  has  touched  the  ground  with  sure  feet, 
stretching  her  right  hand  to  the  victor's  brow.  All  is 
beauty,  grace,  and  life. 

On  the  farthest  side  is  that  sister  who  has^ entered  with 
slow  step  and  sunken  head.  Her  beautiful  head  is  bent 
by  the  oak  wreath.  A  budding  oak  twig  rests  against  her 
right  shoulder,  and  the  left  hand  holds  her  drapery  a  little 
raised,  to  give  freer  motion.  She  appears  to  think  of  the 
sacrifice  which  the  conquest  has  cost :  it  is  a  victory,  but 
dearly  bought. 

Opposite  her,  on  the  same  wall,  is  the  splendid  form  of 


248  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

the  self-crowning  Victory,  who  is  putting  the  wreath  on 
her  own  head,  as  if  for  joy  in  the  conquest. 

On  the  left  stands  a  more  thoughtful  sister.  She  has 
risen  from  her  seat,  and,  holding  the  wreaths  in  both 
hands,  she  approaches  the  conqueror,  a  beautiful  picture 
of  victorious  joy. 

These  six  models  were  used  also  on  the  gables  of  the 
Royal  Opera  House  in  Berlin,  after  the  old  house  was 
burned,  and  the  king  wished  to  hurry  on  their  restora- 
tion. Tragic  masks  were  put  in  their  hands,  and  they 
were  made  to  serve  as  muses.  They  were  also  used  with 
modifications  for  other  buildings. 

In  1837  King  Friedrich  Wilhelm  visited  Rauch's  atelier, 
and  ordered  two  Victories  in  bronze  for  Charlottenburg. 
Rauch  had  freer  play  with  these  models  than  with  those 
for  the  Walhalla.  These  statues  were  to  be  placed  on 
high  granite  pillars.  This  position  gave  opportunity  for 
more  action,  and  the  forms  are  not  entirely  draped.  In 
1840  the  king  celebrated  the  twenty-fifth  anniversary  of 
the  peace,  and  wishing  to  erect  a  monument  on  the 
" Belle  Alliance  Plats"  in  Berlin,  he  had  the  Victory  cast 
in  bronze.  She  is  holding  an  olive  branch  outstretched 
towards  the  city. 

Again,  in  1847,  Rauch  reproduced  the  Victories  for  the 
staircase  of  the  Prince  of  Prussia  ;  but,  with  the  welcome 
change  of  celebrating  the  victories  of  peace,  he  added  to 
the  laurel  wreaths  the  olive  and  the  horn  of  plenty. 

Finally,  for  the  fourth  time,  the  old  master  must  make 
a  crowning  Victory,  and  this  time  it  must  be  colossal, 
three  metres  high.  The  sixth  army  corps  wished  to  erect 
a  monument  on  the  battle-field  of  Leuthen  to  the  memory 
of  Frederic  the  Great.  It  was  to  be  placed  on  the  only 
hillock  on  the  plain,  from  which  Frederic  had  watched 
the  battle.  A  colossal  image  of  Victory  was  chosen,  and 
Friedrich  Wilhelm  IV.  gave  a  granite  pillar,  from  which 
the  figure  could  be  seen  far  and  wide.  The  wreath  was 


CONDITION    OF    ART    IN    GERMANY  249 

gilded.  The  statue  has  unfortunately  suffered  much,  and 
needs  restoration. 

The  king  had  given  a  copy  of  the  Victory  to  the  Grand 
Duke  of  Mecklenburg-Strelitz,  to  be  placed  in  the  garden 
of  Neu-Strelitz.  It  is  touching  to  read  the  letter  of  the 
gray-haired  prince  to  his  still  older  artist  friend,  aged 
seventy-seven,  who  was  then  preparing  for  his  visit  to 
Rome.  He  begins  :  "  You  have  by  your  Victory  for  the 
battle-field  of  Leuthen,  given  a  proof  to  the  rightly  as- 
tonished world  that  even  in  your  old  age  it  is  possible  to 
make  progress  ;  and  since  this  is  established,  how  can  it 
be  doubted  that  Rome  will  refresh  and  strengthen  you 
anew,  as  a  man  growing  old  is  refreshed  by  the  breath  of 
a  young  maiden  ?  " 

Rauch  also  prepared  several  marble  busts  of  the  Vic- 
tories. If  his  workers  in  Italian  marble  had  nothing  to 
do,  he  let  them  make  a  bust  of  Victory,  which  he  finished 
with  his  own  hands.  He  had  no  fear  in  regard  to  the 
disposition  of  them.  In  1857  he  sent  a  bust  with  his 
good  wishes  to  his  friend  Strack  on  his  forty-ninth  birth- 
day, recalling  the  days  when  they  had  worked  together, 
and  acknowledging  artistic  obligations  to  him.  Finally, 
America  received  her  memorial  of  the  great  sculptor. 
The  last  notice  of  the  completion  of  a  work  by  his  own 
hand  is  of  a  Victory.  As  he  returned  from  his  last  jour- 
ney to  Karlsbad,  June  22,  1857,  he  wrote  in  his  diary :  "  I 
found  in  the  atelier  the  model  of  the  statue  of  Kant  in 
such  good  condition  that  I  only  had  to  go  over  it  with 
Hagen.  On  the  marble  bust  of  Victory  for  Mr.  Lenox 
I  had  more  to  do  :  it  was  finished  on  the  eighteenth  of 
July."1  This  is  the  last  notice  in  the  day-book  of  the 
completion  of  a  work  by  his  own  hand. 

Rauch  did  not  recover  from  the  sickness  which  the  last 
bath  journey  had  caused.  A  few  months  later  he  passed 

1  This  Victory  is  now  in  the  Lenox  Library  in  New  York.  It  is  a  beautiful  clas- 
sic head  crowned  with  the  oak  wreath. 


250  LIFE   OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

to  quiet  rest.  A  Victory  was  the  boundary  stone  of  his 
earthly  creations.  His  Victory  remains  a  most  charac- 
teristic and  beautiful  expression  of  the  most  poetic  side 
of  his  nature.  While  the  Queen  Louise  is  at  once  a 
tribute  of  affection  and  a  true  portrait,  it  is  also  a  beauti- 
ful ideal ;  but  the  Victory  is  a  pure  conception  of  his  joy 
in  the  regeneration  of  his  country,  which  he  has  made  a 
universal  symbol  of  the  grand  conquests  of  life. 


MONUMENT    TO    FREDERIC    THE    GREAT  2$  I 


CHAPTER   XIII 

MONUMENT    TO    FREDERIC    THE    GREAT 
1780-1850 

THE  work  by  which  Rauch  is  most  generally  known  is 
the  statue  of  Frederic  the  Great  at  Berlin,  which  is  the 
grand  conclusion  of  his  long  series  of  monuments  to 
heroes  and  warriors.  And  yet  this  reveals  to  us  far  less 
of  his  thought  and  nature  than  the  memorials  of  his  be- 
loved queen  and  king  with  whom  his  whole  life  was  asso- 
ciated, or  the  beautiful  circle  of  Victories  which  were  the 
joy  of  his  heart.  This  great  monument  illustrates  his 
sad  remark  to  Bunsen  that  "  two-thirds  of  all  an  artist 
thinks  and  executes  is  prescribed  by  the  age  he  lives  in." 
We  shall  see  how  much  he  had  to  contend  with  in  this 
age. 

Dr.  Eggers  considers  this  statue  as  Rauch's  greatest 
work. 

Rauch  was  only  three  years  old  when  the  proposition 
was  first  made  to  build  a  monument  to  Frederic  II.  In 
1779,  after  the  close  of  the  last  campaign  against  the 
Kaiser  Joseph,  in  response  to  the  desire  of  the  Prussian 
Army,  General  Mollendorf  proposed  the  appropriation  of 
two  hundred  thousand  thalers  for  the  purpose  of  erecting 
a  monument  to  the  king.  But  the  king  declared  it  to  be 
improper  to  erect  a  monument  to  a  commander  who  was 
still  living.  For  sixty  years  this  project  was  discussed, 
and  not  less  than  fifty-eight  sketches  for  it  made  by 
various  persons. 

After  the  death   of  Frederic  it  was  proposed  that  not 


252  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

the  army  alone,  but  the  whole  people,  should  take  part  in 
the  erection  of  this  monument.  In  1791  King  Frederic 
William  II.  wished  a  concurrence  of  artists  to  make 
sketches,  and  he  prescribed  the  general  character  of  the 
statue,  which  was  to  be  in  Roman  costume.  The  most 
extreme  and  bizarre  sketches  were  offered,  Chodowiecki 
sending  his  with  the  note :  "  I  have  placed  a  sun  on  the 
housings  of  the  horse,  to  express  the  enlightenment 
he  [Frederic  the  Great]  has  spread  through  the  world." 
Many  were  very  strenuous  for  the  modern  costume  ;  and 
it  marks  the  spirit  of  the  times  that  the  argument  was 
used  that  the  antique  costume  would  carry  the  king  back 
a  thousand  years,  to  the  time  when  the  human  race  was 
divided  into  lords  and  slaves,  while  Frederic  held  fast  the 
thought  of  the  unity  of  the  human  race,  and  taught  that 
kings  exist  for  the  good  of  the  people. 

The  fearful  events  of  1792  put  a  stop  for  a  time  to  the 
discussions  in  regard  to  the  monument,  and  they  were 
not  renewed  until  1797.  Afterwards,  the  death  of  the 
king  delayed  the  execution  o'f  the  plan,  and  on  the  acces- 
sion of  Friedrich  Wilhelm  III.  he  did  not  at  once  find  him- 
self in  a  position  to  carry  on  the  work,  of  which,  however, 
he  did  not  lose  sight.  Both  the  king  and  queen  held  Scha- 
dow's  views  in  regard  to  the  costume,  and  now  determined 
on  a  colossal  equestrian  statue,  and  Schadow  received  acorn- 
mission  to  make  estimates  for  a  bronze  statue  with  a  granite 
pedestal.  Little  did  he  think  that  in  the  queen's  ante- 
chamber was  the  young  man  who  was  to  carry  the  work  into 
execution.  But  long  years  of  political  troubles  lay  between 
this  plan  and  the  final  result.  In  1822  notes  from  Rauch's 
diary  refer  to  suggestions  from  Schinkel  in  regard  to 
a  renewal  of  the  project.  About  1829  the  plan  of  a 
Trajan's  pillar  was  much  discussed,  and,  a  general  sub- 
scription being  proposed,  it  was  suggested  that  those  prov- 
inces which  had  been  conquered  by  Frederic  might  take 
part  in  it  if  they  chose,  but  that  no  demand  should  be 
made  upon  them. 


MONUMENT  TO  FREDERIC  THE  GREAT        253 

At  last,  in  1830,  the  affair  seemed  to  take  a  definite 
turn  in  a  proposal  to  Schinkel ;  but  he  objected  on  artistic 
grounds  to  the  plan  of  a  Trajan's  pillar,  saying  that  the 
extent  of  the  bass-reliefs  made  it  impossible  to  see  the 
unity  of  the  design,  and  that  the  statue  of  the  hero  him- 
self with  his  head  one  hundred  and  fourteen  feet  in  the 
air  could  not  impress  the  beholder  with  his  personality  in 
its  finer  traits.  Schinkel  offered  several  other  designs, 
representing  the  hero  on  horseback  or  in  a  chariot.  In 
February  the  king  gave  Schinkel  a  cabinet  order  direct- 
ing him  to  communicate  with  Rauch  in  regard  to  the 
details  of  the  work,  but  he  still  adhered  to  the  idea  of  the 
pillar,  which  was  so  unacceptable  to  Schinkel  that  he 
appealed  to  Rauch  to  help  him  in  trying  to  effect  a 
change. 

Rauch  was  then  on  his  return  from  Italy.  He  did  not 
answer  Schinkel's  letter  for  some  time,  hoping  to  find 
some  one  who  would  help  him  to  influence  the  king. 

Rauch  proposed  a  new  plan  for  a  monument,  consisting 
of  a  statue  of  Frederic  with  six  of  his  generals  placed  in 
a  horizontal  row  below  him,  and  of  smaller  size.  But 
George  of  Mecklenburg  objected  to  this,  that  as  the  great 
King  Frederic  was  so  immeasurably  above  all  his  subjects, 
they  ought  not  to  be  represented  on  the  same  monument, 
even  on  a  lower  plane. 

The  king  was  not  moved  by  Rauch's  objections,  and 
postponed  the  decision  until  he  should  return.  Rauch 
now  proposed  that  the  pillar  should  be  crowned  by  a 
Victory,  and  that  the  statue  of  the  king  should  be  placed 
on  a  lower  pedestal.  Bunsen  writes  that  it  seems  impos- 
sible to  move  the  king  from  his  determination,  and  that 
"  it  appears  to  be  written  in  the  stars  that  we  shall  have 
to  see  the  great  king  on  the  top  of  a  steeple." 

Rauch  continued  to  make  sketches  for  the  monument, 
hoping  that  the  king's  plans  might  be  changed  by  seeing 
them  carried  into  execution.  In  1835  the  king  began  to 


254  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

weaken  in  his  determination,  and  directed  Rauch  to  make 
designs  for  a  monument  to  Frederic,  to  be  placed  on  a 
pillar  or  a  pedestal.  Soon  after  he  sent  to  Rauch  to  make 
a  drawing  of  an  equestrian  statue  of  the  great  king  in 
his  own  costume,  with  royal  mantle,  staff  of  command,  and 
even  the  hat.  Rauch  feared  a  new  controversy,  since  he 
objected  strongly  to  any  covering  of  the  head  which  would 
conceal  the  brow  and  shade  the  eyes.  Duke  George  sup- 
ported him  in  this  objection  ;  but  the  king  neither  wished 
to  give  up  his  own  idea,  nor  to  give  an  explicit  order 
against  the  judgment  of  the  sculptor  and  his  artistic 
counsellor. 

Rauch  then  suggested  a  sitting  statue  of  the  great 
king  as  he  sat  on  the  well  at  Nienburg  weaving  together 
the  torn  threads  of  his  fate,  after  the  battle  of  Kollin. 
This  called  forth  an  admirable  letter  of  criticism  from  the 
grand  duke,  showing  that  a  great  monarch  should  not  be 
represented  at  the  moment  when  his  fate  trembled  in  the 
balance,  however  nobly  he  rose  from  the  depression,  but 
in  the  hour  of  victory.  He  suggested  that  such  a  subject 
would  only  be  appropriate  in  a  cycle  of  bass-reliefs  where 
it  would  be  followed  by  victory,  and  the  dissonance,  as  in 
music,  would  heighten  the  resulting  harmony.  Rauch 
carefully  preserved  this  letter,  and  followed  out  its  sug- 
gestions in  the  bass-reliefs  of  his  monument.  The  king 
finally  called  a  new  commission  to  consider  the  subject, 
and  they  reported  in  favor  of  an  equestrian  statue,  and 
against  the  pillar.  March,  1836,  the  king  gave  Rauch  an 
order  to  make  a  model  for  the  equestrian  statue.  He 
went  eagerly  to  work,  and  in  two  months  produced  a 
sketch  of  a  statue  with  a  rich  pedestal.  The  bass-reliefs- 
form  a  succession,  showing  the  progress  of  the  conflict, 
from  the  first  drawing  of  the  sword  to  the  final  victory, 
and  the  peace  and  the  joy  of  the  citizens. 

He  made  a  double  model  of  the  statue,  with  and  with- 
out the  head-covering,  and  was  so  well  pleased  with  his 


MONUMENT  TO  FREDERIC  THE  GREAT        255 

own  work  as  to  hope  that  he  might  carry  it  into  execu- 
tion. Although  the  duke,  Humboldt,  and  other  connois- 
seurs warmly  received  and  praised  these  sketches,  the 
king  kept  the  artist  waiting  for  two  months  without  a 
word  as  to  his  opinion,  or  the  final  acceptance  of  the 
designs,  while  the  excitement  of  the  sculptor  was  such  as 
to  unfit  him  for  work  or  enjoyment.  At  the  end  of  that 
time  the  king  criticised  the  representations  of  the  gener- 
als, and  wished  allegorical  figures  substituted  for  them. 
Encouraged  by  the  duke,  Rauch  patiently  went  to  work 
again,  and  designed  a  circle  of  allegorical  figures.  Still 
the  king  delayed,  and  Rauch  notes  that  he  visited  the 
atelier  many  times  without  saying  a  word  about  the 
monument.  But  Rauch  had  not  been  idly  waiting  during 
these  years,  and  finally  it  was  with  surprise  that  he  re- 
ceived an  order  from  the  king  to  go  on  with  the  statue. 
Congratulations  came  to  him  from  all  sides,  and  he  felt 
that  he  was  to  give  his  best  and  his  last  powers  to  the 
work.  Finally  the  order  was  given  to  him  in  the  most 
flattering  terms,  December  8,  1839. 

Now  began  the  difficulties  of  the  execution.  He  was 
obliged  to  enlarge  his  atelier  to  accommodate  all  the  work. 
Next  came  the  study  of  the  horse,  which  must  not  be  a 
typical  Arab  or  Greek  horse,  but  one  of  the  sturdy  Eng- 
lish breed  which  Frederic  actually  used.  Rauch  used  for 
a  model  an  old  horse  of  this  race  named  Talbot,  which 
was  said  to  resemble  strongly  Frederic's  favorite  horse 
Conde.  He  also  made  journeys  to  various  places  to  study 
the  characteristics  of  different  races  and  breeds  of  horses. 
Grave  questions  arose  among  critics  even  as  to  the  repre- 
sentation of  the  horse's  tail,  and  Rauch  corresponded 
with  the  English  sculptors  Westmacott  and  Wyatt  on 
the  subject.  His  visit  to  Russia  afforded  him  opportuni- 
ties which  he  eagerly  seized  upon  for  further  study. 
Many  were  the  difficulties  in  modelling  the  horse  and  his 
rider  of  corresponding  size,  and  it  was  only  after  five 


256  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

years'  labor  that  the  artist  could  put  his  model  into  the 
hands  of  the  founder  for  casting. 

Rauch  had  never  been  satisfied  with  the  allegorical  fig- 
ures which  Friedrich  Wilhelm  III.  had  suggested  in  the 
place  of  the  heroes  whom  he  had  designed  to  surround 
the  king ;  and  now  he  arranged  a  modification  of  these 
groups,  in  the  earnest  hope  that  his  successor,  Friedrich 
Wilhelm  IV.,  might  see  the  appropriateness  of  his  original 
idea. 

It  was  an  anxious  day  for  Rauch  when  the  king  visited 
the  atelier  to  view  the  completed  model ;  and  when  at  last 
he  expressed  his  entire  concurrence  in  Rauch's  new  plan, 
it  seemed  to  the  artist  the  culminating  joy  of  his  life.  He 
must  pour  out  his  soul  to  his  friends.  The  grand  duke, 
although  plunged  into  sudden  grief  by  the  death  of  his 
daughter,  gave  him  the  warmest  sympathy. 

But  his  joy  was  not  complete  until  Rietschel  shared 
it.  He  writes  to  him  March  27,  1842  :  "  You  can  clearly 
imagine  with  what  other  and  new  courage  I  now  put  my 
hand  to  the  execution  of  the  whole,  than  if  the  duty  of 
moulding  the  allegorical  forms  in  their  insipidity  were  laid 
upon  me.  This  day  was,  if  not  the  happiest,  one  of  the 
very  happiest  of  my  life.  Praying  God  my  former  health 
and  strength  may  keep  fresh  ten  years  more,  I  am  yet 
modest,  and  really  mean  only  half  that  time."  This 
prayer  was  not  dispersed  in  empty  air.  Rauch  had  still 
much  difficulty  in  the  choice  of  the  generals  and  com- 
panions of  Frederic  who  were  to  be  represented  on  the 
monument,  and  also  in  arranging  the  names  to  be  placed 
on  it,  so  as  to  meet  the  king's  wishes,  and  suit  all  parties, 
without  violating  his  own  artistic  taste.  He  was  obliged 
to  change  field-officers  and  generals  about,  as  if  he  were 
manoeuvring  an  army.  "  You  hardly  realize,"  he  wrote  to 
Rietschel,  "  how  hard  it  is  to  represent  these  personalities 
as  hussars,  all  with  the  same  number  of  curls  arranged 
over  the  ears  by  the  same  barber,  and  with  no  other  attri- 
butes than  the  dagger  and  sword." 


MONUMENT  TO  FREDERIC  THE  GREAT        2$J 

It  was  refreshing  to  change  to  the  civic  side  and 
model  the  citizen's  dress.  But  this  side  brought  out  al- 
most greater  difficulties  in  the  choice  of  subjects.  Each 
critic  had  his  word  to  say,  and  when  Preuss  had  proposed 
his  idea  of  the  representation  of  classes,  everybody  was 
suggested,  from  Voltaire  and  the  Marquis  D'Argens  to  the 
opera-singers  Salimbeni  and  the  Barberina. 

It  is  difficult  in  brief  space  to  give  an  idea  of  the  vari- 
ety and  richness  of  the  whole  work. 

On  the  lower  part  of  the  pedestal  the  events  of  Fred- 
eric's life  were  represented.  The  longer  side  was  di- 
vided into  three  fields  of  nearly  equal  size ;  those  on  the 
south  side  were  to  be  consecrated  to  his  birth  and  child- 
hood, and  his  instruction  in  history  and  science  and  the 
forging  of  arms.  As  the  lower  part  of  this  pedestal  was 
decorated  with  the  knights  and  officers  and  heroic  deeds 
of  Frederic's  military  career,  it  was  enough  to  represent 
him  as  a  warrior  led  by  victory.  The  other  three  great 
fields  represent  him  after  the  war  was  over,  as  the  promo- 
ter of  industry,  the  protector  of  art,  and  the  philosopher 
of  Sans-Souci.  On  the  reverse  was  his  apotheosis  beyond 
the  bounds  of  earthly  life. 

His  childhood  is  represented  on  the  fourth  side.  Two 
angels  in  long  clothes,  one  swinging  a  palm  branch,  the 
other  holding  the  little  babe  in  its  arms,  bring  him  down 
to  the  royal  pair,  the  mother  holding  out  her  arms  to 
receive  him,  while  the  king's  hands  are  folded  in  prayer. 
In  the  left  corner  is  the  rush-crowned  nymph  of  the 
Spree  with  her  swan,  leaning  on  an  urn.  In  the  second 
field  at  a  table  sits  Duhan,  the  instructor  of  Frederic,  a 
book  in  his  right  hand ;  before  him  stands  the  royal  boy, 
and  behind  him  a  globe. 

By  Rietschel's  advice  he  changed  his  first  sketches,  in 
order  to  bring  them  into  greater  unity  with  the  rest  of 
the  work,  by  substituting  allegorical  figures  ;  so  he  put 
the  muse  of  history  in  the  place  of  Duhan,  while  the 


258  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

globe  and  a  lighted  candelabrum  make  a  school  of  science. 
In  the  third  field  the  teacher  is  replaced  by  a  helmeted 
Minerva,  who  offers  a  sword  to  the  youthful  hero. 

Indeed,  he  made  so  many  changes  in  his  designs  that  I 
will  not  attempt  to  give  them.  The  bass-reliefs  can  now 
be  studied  in  their  final  form  on  the  finished  monument, 
or  more  conveniently  in  the  casts  at  the  Rauch  Museum. 
The  general  effect  is  very  rich  and  animated. 

After  the  completion  of  the  model,  the  preparation 
for  the  casting  in  bronze  and  its  erection  caused  yet 
another  year's  delay.  Rauch  had  indeed  made  prepara- 
tions for  the  casting  six  years  before,  when  he  sum- 
moned to  Berlin,  Friebel,  who  had  shown  himself  a  skilful 
founder  for  the  Polish  kings  in  the  cathedral  at  Posen. 
He  came  to  Berlin  in  1845,  and  established  his  workshop 
in  the  new  mint.  With  the  erection  of  this  foundry, 
Rauch  did  not  escape  the  usual  struggle  for  the  means  of 
existence.  He  had  already  spent  more  than  five  thousand 
thalers  for  the  necessary  preparations  ;  but  the  minister 
of  finance  would  not  repay  him,  because  the  administra- 
tion of  the  mint  belonged  to  the  department  of  religious 
worship  and  instruction ;  and  the  minister  of  religious 
worship  also  refused,  because  the  outlay  was  made  for  the 
monument  to  Frederic.  Rauch,  already  threatened  with 
legal  measures,  declared  to  the  king  that  under  these  con- 
ditions he  could  no  longer  work  with  cheerfulness.  Then 
a  cabinet  order  on  the  minister  of  finance,  with  a  draft 
on  the  monument  funds,  freed  him  from  his  unpleasant 
position.  Kings  are  convenient  sometimes  to  cut  knots. 

The  process  of  casting  is  as  interesting  as  it  is  diffi- 
cult, and  at  times  Rauch  was  very  anxious  about  the 
result  ;  but,  as  he  gratefully  tells  his  assistants,  it  was 
happily  accomplished  through  their  skill.  But  to  Rauch 
himself  his  work  did  not  seem  a  success,  for  the  horse 
appeared  too  short  in  the  trunk,  and  too  long-legged — "no 
comforting  sight."  He  was  never  reconciled  to  those 


FREDERICK  THE  GREAT,   BERLIN 


MONUMENT  TO  FREDERIC  THE  GREAT       259 

long,  or  rather  slender  legs,  as  we  learn  from  a  letter 
which,  many  years  after  the  monument  was  erected,  he 
addressed  to  Councillor  Scholl  at  Weimar.  This  letter  is 
full  of  instruction  to  the  technical  sculptor,  but  is  too 
long  to  insert  here. 

New  discussions  arose  in  regard  to  the  inscription,  and 
Rauch  appealed  to  Preuss,  who  wished  for  one  in  German. 
But  the  king  appointed  a  commission  to  decide  the  mat- 
ter. The  inscription  is  enclosed  in  a  deep  setting  deco- 
rated with  palms,  on  which  are  the  king's  crown,  sword, 
sceptre,  and  imperial  globe,  and  a  cross,  with  laurel  and 
palm  branches. 

FRIEDRICH  DEM  GROSSEN, 
FRIEDRICH   WILHELM   DER  DRITTE 

MDCCCXXXX. 

VOLLENDET  UNTER  FRIEDRICH  WILHELM  DEM  VIERTEN. 

MDCCCLI. 

The  colossal  granite  pedestal  was  also  a  great  work, 
consisting  of  thirty-two  blocks.  Rauch  wrote  to  Riet- 
schel :  "  No  time  of  work  has  been  harder  to  me  than  this 
delay  in  finding  these  granite  blocks.  These  will  stand, 
the  sure  monument  of  Frederic  the  Great,  when  time 
shall  have  melted  the  bronze." 

On  the  fifteenth  of  May  began  the  moving  of  the 
great  statue  out  of  the  foundry  over  the  Haakschen  Markt, 
the  Spandau  bridge,  the  new  Friedrichs  bridge,  by  the 
cathedral,  to  the  booth  before  the  destined  station.  Forty 
carpenters  accomplished  this  removal  on  rollers  in  twice 
twenty-four  hours. 

Then  the  walls  of  the  scaffoldings  were  taken  down ; 
and  Rauch  now  saw  the  statue  in  the  early  morning  of 
the  twenty-fifth  of  May  on  a  level  with  the  height  of  the 
pedestal,  raising  itself  towards  the  free  heaven,  and  ris- 
ing high  over  the  highest  lindens.  It  gave  to  him  an 
unexpected  impression  of  powerful  effect. 


26O  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

Great  preparations  were  made  for  the  unveiling  of  the 
monument.  All  Rauch's  own  family  were  present,  his 
daughters  and  grandchildren.  As  guests  of  the  royal  fam- 
ily came  the  young  nephew  Friedrich  Franz  of  Mecklen- 
burg-Schwerin,  and  the  venerable  Uncle  George  of 
Strelitz,  who  arrived  on  the  twenty-eighth  "because  he 
had  no  peace  at  home ;"  the  Dukes  of  Braunschweig  and  of 
Genoa,  and  the  young  nobility  of  Saxony,  Schwarzburg, 
and  Wiirtemberg,  and  finally  the  whole  of  Prussia  in 
countless  deputations  of  all  ranks  and  classes  from  every 
province  in  the  kingdom.  There  came  also  merchants  and 
mechanics,  and  representatives  of  art  and  science,  and 
above  all  of  the  Prussian  Army.  Two  of  her  veterans,  old 
men  of  one  hundred  and  six  and  one  hundred  and  two 
years,  appeared,  as  well  as  a  hussar  eighty-five  years  old, 
in  his  genuine  old  uniform.  Besides  these,  came  the  future 
promise  of  the  army,  the  young  figures  of  the  cadet  corps. 

On  a  warm  spring  day,  May  31,  1851,  the  one  hundred 
and  eleventh  anniversary  of  Frederic's  ascension  of  the 
throne,  the  splendid  procession  passed  through  the  files  of 
soldiers  drawn  up  like  living  walls  along  the  streets. 

Foremost  appeared  the  great  master,  Rauch,  adorned 
with  the  order  of  civil  service,  to  which  had  been  added 
the  night  before  the  star  of  the  Red  Order  of  the  Eagle. 
He  was  preceded  by  the  commission  of  unveiling,  and 
surrounded  by  the  artists,  head  workmen,  and  helpers  who 
had  been  engaged  in  the  great  work.  Dr.  Eggers  says, 
"  None  of  the  thousands  whom  Berlin  assembled  to  this 
feast  will  ever  forget  the  moment  when  the  old  artist,  in 
all  his  majestic  beauty,  stepped  on  the  broad  square  at  the 
head  of  this  festal  train.  The  joyful  greeting  of  those 
nearest  him  swelled  into  a  jubilant  cry  of  the  countless 
multitude  which  surrounded  the  square  like  mountain 
walls." 

The  Prince  of  Prussia  rode  up  to  the  artist,  giving  him 
his  hand  in  greeting,  and  the  ladies  of  the  court  came  out 


MONUMENT  TO  FREDERIC  THE  GREAT       26l 

on  the  balcony  of  the  palace.  The  square  being  cleared, 
the  march  of  Frederic  the  Great  announced  the  arrival  of 
the  king.  He  came  on  horseback  at  the  head  of  an  im- 
mense crowd.  Halting  before  the  monument,  after  listen- 
ing to  a  short  speech  from  the  president,  he  drew  his 
sword  and  commanded  the  troops  to  present  arms.  Im- 
mediately thousands  of  voices,  the  thunder  of  artillery, 
the  lowering  of  standards,  the  clang  of  bells,  and  the  swell 
of  the  Hohenfriedberger  March  greeted  the  statue  un- 
veiled in  the  glorious  sunlight  of  the  day.  A  sacred  silence 
followed  the  outburst  of  joy  and  astonishment ;  then  from 
behind  the  statue  sounded  the  clear  voices  of  the  choir  of 
.the  cathedral,  accompanied  by  the  sonorous  swell  of  the 
trumpets  in  the  grand  old  choral,  "Nun  danket  alle  Gott" 

At  the  close  of  the  song  the  king  spoke  to  the  army, 
and  then  to  the  burgomasters  of  the  city.  He  then  turned 
to  Master  Rauch,  whose  hand  he  repeatedly  pressed,  and 
gave  him  three  memorial  coins,  struck  in  gold,  silver,  and 
bronze,  from  his  own  designs,  in  memory  of  the  unveiling 
of  the  statue. 

Festivities  were  continued  through  the  week ;  but  none 
could  have  been  more  grateful  to  the  artist's  feelings  than 
the  social  meeting  in  the  old  Lagerhaus,  followed  by  a 
feast  given  by  the  artists  of  the  Royal  Academy.  Rauch 
was  greeted  by  the  festal  hymn  written  by  Kopisch  and 
composed  by  Meyerbeer  :  — 

"  Steht  auf  und  empfangt  mit  Feiergesang 
Lobpreisend  den  Mann  der  die  Stadt,  der  das  Land 

Durch  belebtes  Gebild 
In  Erz  wie  in  Marmor  verherrlicht." 

The  vice-director  of  the  academy,  Professor  Herberg, 
said,  "  The  day  before  belonged  to  the  fatherland,  but  this 
hour  is  ours  ;  the  companions  in  art  greet  the  artist,  and 
are  proud  to  name  him  theirs." 

Music  specially  composed  for  the  occasion  filled  the 
evening ;  a  medal  was  given  to  Rauch,  and  the  king  kissed 


262  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

him  amid  the  applause  of  the  company,  who  felt  "that  no 
favor  was  too  great  for  him  who  had  been  able  to  speak 
out  of  his  soul  in  enduring  brass  to  the  souls  of  all." 

Finally  the  festivities  closed  with  a  grand  reunion  of 
artists,  with  tableaux  and  dramatic  representations.  Many 
of  the  greatest  artists  of  the  time  were  present,  among 
whom  his  old  friends  Kaulbach  of  Munich,  Bendemann  of 
Dresden,  Felsing  of  Darmstadt,  and  Scholl  of  Weimar, 
are  probably  the  best  known  to  us.  The  press  teemed 
with  poems  in  honor  of  the  artist  and  the  work.  When 
after  a  few  weeks  the  temporary  supports  were  taken  away, 
the  whole  beauty  of  the  monument  was  revealed.  Then 
was  recognized  the  architect  Rauch  in  the  whole  structure  ; 
the  painter  in  the  composition  of  the  groups ;  the  poet  in 
the  conception  of  the  whole,  and  in  the  character  of  the 
details ;  and,  above  all,  the  sculptor  in  the  fashioning  of 
all  the  portraits,  so  that  the  greater  part  of  them  with  few 
changes  were  available  for  single  statues,  as  was  actually 
the  case  with  that  of  Kant.  The  whole  cost  of  the  monu- 
ment was,  in  round  numbers,  two  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  thalers.  Rauch  made  a  copy  one-fourth  of  the 
size  of  the  original  for  the  Emperor  of  Russia. 

I  must  refer  my  readers  to  Dr.  Eggers  for  a  full  analy- 
sis of  the  artistic  qualities  of  this  great  work.  It  is  cer- 
tainly one  of  the  finest  large  monumental  statues  of 
modern  times,  and  resumes  in  itself  Rauch's  life-long 
studies  in  this  direction. 

An  incident  of  a  more  private  nature  may  close  the 
history  of  this  great  undertaking.  Rauch  had  long  wished 
to  present  to  the  church  of  Arolsen  casts  of  the  four 
cardinal  virtues,  from  the  designs  on  the  Frederic  monu- 
ment. He  communicated  his  intention  to  his  friend 
August  Speyer,  and  made  his  preparations  quietly  for  the 
execution  of  the  statues.  The  place  for  the  casts  was 
selected,  and  the  work  was  going  on  well,  when  Rauch 
received  through  Speier  the  intelligence  that  the  placing 


MONUMENT  TO  FREDERIC  THE  GREAT       263 

of  the  four  cardinal  virtues  in  the  church  would  not  be 
agreeable  to  the  consistorium,  since  they  did  not  conform 
to  the  Christian  standpoint,  and  would  give  offence  to 
orthodox  minds,  and  at  this  time  such  a  conflict  was 
especially  to  be  avoided. 

Ranch  replied  that  this  unexpected  and  unreasonable 
refusal  of  his  gift  had  wounded  him  very  deeply,  and  he 
begged  that  there  might  be  no  further  mention  of  the  sub- 
ject in  any  way,  as  he  did  not  wish  to  be  reminded  of  it. 

But  afterwards  Rauch  received  an  address  signed  by 
nearly  a  hundred  of  the  citizens  of  Arolsen,  deeply  mourn- 
ing the  decision  of  the  ecclesiastical  authorities,  and  ex- 
pressing the  hope  that  he  would  not  blame  his  native  city 
for  this  event. 

Three  years  later  Rauch  heard  that  the  magistrates  of 
Arolsen  had  purchased  his  birthplace  on  a  perpetual  foun- 
dation, as  a  refuge  for  worthy  citizens.  Rauch  sent  to  this 
establishment  a  gift  of  five  hundred  thalers,  but  at  the  same 
time  gave  the  casts  of  the  four  virtues,  for  his  castle,  to  the 
prince,  who  received  the  gift  in  the  most  friendly  manner. 

The  mother  of  the  prince  commissioned  Speier  "to 
say  to  my  dear  Rauch,  with  a  thousand  greetings,  how 
much  I  rejoice  in  his  continued  goodness;  but  especially 
tell  him  how  I,  as  an  old  woman,  am  pleased  to  hear  that 
his  old  home  has  become  an  asylum  for  aged  women,  and 
that  he  has  given  to  this  noble  charity  such  a  noteworthy 
gift.  Express  this  all  properly  !  " 

In  1841  Rauch  received  a  commission  from  King 
Friedrich  Wilhelm  IV.,  which  must  have  been  most  wel- 
come to  him,  to  prepare  for  the  mausoleum  at  Charlotten- 
burg  a  companion  monument  to  the  "  king  of  blessed 
memory,"  the  husband  of  Queen  Louise,  to  be  placed 
beside  her.  The  king  wished  the  costume  to  be  very 
simple,  to  correspond  with  that  of  the  queen,  and  sug- 
gested the  military  cloak  instead  of  the  ermine  mantle. 
Rauch  made  four  different  sketches.  At  first  he  endeav- 


264  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

ored  to  make  the  position  of  the  figure  balance  that  of 
the  queen  by  the  arrangement  of  the  hands  and  feet ;  but 
he  abandoned  that  idea,  and  placed  the  king  in  a  simple 
horizontal  position.  By  the  wish  of  Friedrich  Wilhelm 
IV.,  many  little  orders  were  added,  and  the  cloak  was 
thrown  back  to  show  the  epaulets. 

In  the  summer  of  1846,  on  the  birthday  of  the  dead 
king,  the  whole  monument  was  finished  in  marble  ;  and 
Rauch  writes  to  Rietschel :  "  I  intend  to  place  the  grave- 
statue  of  the  king  for  a  couple  of  days  in  the  first  of 
August  in  the  atelier  in  a  good  light,  before  it  goes  into 
the  worst  light  I  ever  saw.  Nobody  could  do  worse  for 
me  than  to  build  such  a  miserable  building  for  this  work." 

When  the  monument  was  placed  in  the  mausoleum, 
Rauch  was  almost  frantic  over  the  injury  to  his  work. 
The  light  came  in  on  both  sides,  and  destroyed  the  effect 
of  the  modelling.  Friedrich  Wilhelm  IV.  consented  to 
darken  one  side  of  the  room,  and  finally  the  trees  as  they 
grew  up  contributed  to  the  same  effect. 

Great  as  was  the  success  of  the  statue  of  Queen  Louise, 
made  more  than  thirty  years  before,  now  that  this  monu- 
ment of  the  king  was  placed  by  its  side,  Rauch's  progress 
in  art  was  evident. 

"The  king  lies  stretched  out  in  an  almost  stiff  position, 
suggesting  the  death-sleep  as  well  as  the  simple,  soldierly 
character  of  the  king,  whose  expression  is  of  mild  ear- 
nestness. Still  more  his  artistic  progress  is  shown  in  the 
fine  lines  which  control  the  general  form  and  give  it  a 
monumental  character  Only  in  comparison  with  this 
later  work  was  it  seen  how  much  the  grand  lines  in  the 
statue  of  the  queen  were  broken  up  by  the  genre-like 
details  of  the  drapery.  One  need  only  compare  the  bier- 
cloths  to  feel  this  contrast  in  all  its  sharpness." 

I  fully  indorse  this  view  given  by  Dr.  Eggers.  The 
exquisite  charm  of  beauty  and  sentiment  prevents  one 
from  remarking  these  defects  in  the  statue  of  the  queen; 


MONUMENT    TO    FREDERIC    THE    GREAT  265 

but  when  the  comparison  is  made,  one  might  almost  say 
that  one  is  the  work  of  a  young  lover  of  art,  as  well  as  of 
his  subject,  and  the  other  is  the  achievement  of  a  master. 
Herein  Ranch  did  a  great  service  to  the  royal  family, 
who  were  to  become  so  important  to  Germany,  by  bring- 
ing out  the  ideal  of  a  king,  even  in  this  likeness  of  a  mon- 
arch of  whom  the  country  had  little  reason  to  be  proud. 

Rauch  also  modelled  for  the  King  of  Hanover  a  statue 
of  his  lately  deceased  wife,  a  sister  of  Queen  Louise. 

Rauch  enjoyed  very  much  his  visits  to  Hanover  to  wit- 
ness the  placing  of  the  statue  ;  not  only  because  of  his 
friendly  reception,  but  because  of  the  frankness  with  which 
the  king,  Ernst  August,  spoke  with  him  on  the  exciting 
politics  of  the  times.  The  calling  of  the  united  Landtages 
did  not  please  him  at  all,  especially  within  the  royal  pal- 
ace. "  Without  giving  room  in  it  to  such  churls,  he 
believed  that  he  could  make  his  subjects  perfectly  happy 
and  contented  :  such  representative  assemblies  should 
never  rule,  especially  in  Germany ! "  However  little 
Rauch  shared  the  political  opinions  of  the  king,  who 
was  obliged  within  a  year  to  recall  his  words,  he  yet  felt 
sympathy  with  the  energetic,  tense  character  of  the  man, 
and  the  unreserved  openness  of  his  speech. 

When  Ernst  August  died  in  November,  1851,  and  Rauch, 
according  to  his  express  wish,  was  asked  to  make  his 
statue,  these  peculiarities  came  to  his  mind.  He  wrote 
to  Fran  von  Bernstoff,  "  Although  a  dead  form  can  afford 
little  charm  to  the  sculptor,  yet  the  '  character-man  '  of 
our  day,  with  his  splendidly  formed  head,  has  something 
interesting  in  the  highest  degree,  and  calls  out  full  in- 
terest for  this  monument."  Already,  when  making  the 
statue  of  the  queen,  Rauch  had  taken  the  exact  measure 
of  the  king,  in  preparation  for  a  later  day ;  and  the  time 
came  when  King  George,  in  December,  1851,  commanded 
the  companion  to  the  monument  of  the  queen.  These 
two  monuments  rank  with  the  best  of  Rauch's  portrait 
statues. 


266  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 


CHAPTER   XIV 

POLITICAL    CHANGES. VISITS  TO  ST.  PETERSBURG,1  COPEN- 
HAGEN,   ANTWERP,    AND    LONDON 

1840-1852 

NOTHING  could  have  given  Rauch  more  delight  than 
the  commission  from  the  Emperor  of  Russia,  through 
the  hands  of  his  friend  Humboldt,  whose  letter  is  full 
of  the  warmest  expressions  of  admiration  and  friendship. 
It  was  dated  February  3,  1830.  Humboldt  says,  "On 
my  return  from  the  Caspian  Sea,  and  in  the  first  days  of 
the  convalescence  of  the  beloved  emperor,  he  has  com- 
missioned me  to  procure  from  Professor  Rauch,  as  a  proof 
of  the  high  regard  which  such  a  talent  merits,  a  marble 
mythological  statue,  nude,  of  the  size  of  the  Apollo  Belvi- 
dere,  or,  if  he  prefers  it,  somewhat  smaller.  You  shall 

1  My  German  authority  calls  this  city  Petersburg  only,  and  the  same  form  is  found 
in  many,  but  not  all,  German  books.  As  this  fact  has  caused  discussion,  I  have  tried 
to  obtain  decided  authority  for  one  or  the  other  expression.  The  report  of  the 
"  Petersburger  Gesellschaft "  uses  Petersburg  only,  even  when  speaking  of  the  court, 
while  the  catalogue  of  the  Berlin  Exhibition  uses  the  prefix  St.  Some  English  writers 
use  both  forms  indiscriminately,  but  the  earliest  authority  that  I  have  found,  "A  History 
of  Peter  the  Great  by  John  Motley  of  London,"  published  in  1703,  never  gives  the  pre- 
fix, although  he  fully  describes  the  building  of  the  city.  A  Russian  friend  has,  however, 
made  special  inquiry  for  me  in  Russia,  and  gives  the  following  statement,  which  seems 
to  set  the  question  at  rest,  as  showing  that  the  city  was  named  for  the  Apostle  rather 
than  the  King:  — 

"  When  Peter  the  Great  took  possession  of  the  river  Neva  in  1703  he  decided  to  build 
a  fort  and  a  city  there.  On  the  sixteenth  of  May  of  the  same  year,  foundation  was  laid 
for  the  city,  and  he  named  it  St.  Petersburg,  in  honor  of  the  Apostle  Peter,  whose  day 
with  the  Greek  Church  is  on  the  sixteenth  of  May.  Peter  himself  was  christened  after 
the  Apostle,  and  that  was  another  reason  why  he  named  the  city  after  his  patron  saint. 


POLITICAL    CHANGES  26/ 

choose  the  subject  freely,  a  male  or  female  figure.  If  I 
said  mythological,  I  wished  only  to  express  that  all  be- 
longing to  modern  times  is  excluded."  In  1831  is  found 
an  entry  in  the  diary,  "  Sketches  for  a  statue  of  Narcissus 
begun."  This  was  probably  a  suggestion  for  the  emper- 
or's statue.  In  the  end  of  the  year  Rauch  notes  that  he 
has  finished  the  sketches  of  a  statue  of  a  Danaid  and  a 
sitting  Eurydice.  The  following  year  he  sends  both  to 
the  minister  of  the  imperial  house.  He  names  the  second 
sketch,  "  Expectations  in  the  form  of  Eurydice  at  the 
moment  when  she  listens  to  the  distant  tone  of  Orpheus, 
who  is  lulling  Cerberus  to  sleep."  Rauch  had  long  before 
taken  an  interest  in  the  idea  of  the  Danaid,  as  express- 
ing unsatisfied  longing  ;  but  the  thought  of  Eurydice  was 
much  nearer  to  him,  as  indicating  the  triumph  of  art.  He 
says  that  he  chooses  this  subject  because  the  whole  form 
is  capable  of  a  determined  expression  which,  especially  in 
the  head,  can  be  brought  out  in  a  charming  manner. 
Goethe  had  suggested  this  subject  to  David  d'Angiers, 
"  because  the  cause  and  effect  would  be  easily  seized,  as 
in  the  Laocoon."  In  the  sketch  in  the  Rauch  Museum, 
Rauch  has  represented  the  Eurydice  sitting  on  a  rock,  in 
whose  hollow  at  her  left  lies  the  Cerberus  watching  her. 
She  hears  the  song  of  Orpheus  from  that  side,  and  looks 
thither,  full  of  expectation.  We  cannot  help  regretting 
that  this  sketch,  which  seems  full  of  promise,  was  not 
carried  out. 

The  Danaid  sketch  represents  the  maiden  as  she  empties 
the  sieve  with  both  hands* 

Rather  against  Rauch's  wishes  the  emperor  at  once 
chose  the  Danaid  as  pleasanter  for  a  room.  Rauch  him- 
self worked  on  the  clay  model,  and  made  a  special  study 
for  the  head  from  Mademoiselle  Louise  Engel,  who  was 
celebrated  for  her  beauty.  But  he  could  not  get  the  real 
Danaid  expression  into  the  beautiful  head,  and  he  changed 
it  into  a  Flora,  which  he  sent  to  the  empress  as  a  fore- 


268  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

runner  of  the  great  work.  A  ring  of  diamonds  with  the 
cipher  of  the  empress  was  sent  him  in  recognition  of  this 
gift.  After  many  disappointments  in  the  quality  of  the 
marble,  and  other  hindrances,  the  work  was  finished  in 
1839.  Rauch  saw  many  details  which  he  felt  he  could 
improve,  but  the  spectators  were  fully  satisfied.  The 
model  received  great  applause  for  years,  and  Kugler  wrote 
this  pointed  epigram  upon  it  :  — 

"  Traurig  blickest  Du  her,  der  endlos  wahrenden  Arbeit 

Suchst  Du  lange  ein  Ziel :  —  nimmer  doch  gehe  zur  Rast, 
Setze  den  Fuss  nicht  ab  von  Stein  und  erhebe  den  Krug  nicht ! 
Denn  gleich  lieblich  wie  jetzt  warest  Du  nimmer  zu  schau'n." 

King  Friedrich  Wilhelm  was  so  much  pleased  with  the 
statue  that  he  commanded  a  replica  in  marble.  In  1840 
the  emperor  came  to  Berlin  at  the  time  of  the  death  of 
the  king,  and  renewed  his  invitation  of  ten  years'  standing 
to  Rauch  to  visit  St.  Petersburg  and  see  his  statue  placed 
in  the  beautiful  palace  of  the  empress.  The  emperor  not 
only  paid  him  five  thousand  thalers,  but  gave  him  the 
insignia  of  the  Wladimir  Order,  Fourth  Class,  and  a  com- 
mission for  a  second  female  statue  of  the  same  size. 

A  note  in  the  day-book  may  refer  to  this  commission  : 
"  The  sketches  for  the  Danaid,  executed  for  the  Emperor 
of  Russia,  changed  to  a  nymph  of  Bacchus,  with  the  young 
Bacchus  on  her  knee."  Both  these  sketches  are  now  in 
the  Rauch  Museum,  and  are  reproduced  in  the  fifth  vol- 
ume of  Dr.  Eggers's  book;  and  it  is  interesting  to  compare 
them,  and  see  how  much  difference  of  meaning  and  effect 
can  be  produced  by  slight  changes.  The  attitude  and 
position  of  the  body  and  the  leg  remain  the  same  in  the 
nymph  as  in  the  Danaid.  On  the  right  hip,  instead  of  the 
water-jug,  rests  the  young  Bacchus,  throwing  his  arms  and 
legs  about  in  childish  pleasure,  while  in  the  left  hand  he 
holds  a  bunch  of  grapes.  The  position  of  the  arms  is 
only  just  so  far  changed  as  the  difference  of  the  object 
supported,  in  the  one  case  an  urn,  in  the  other  a  child, 


POLITICAL    CHANGES  269 

makes  necessary.  The  head  of  the  nymph  is  turned  to 
the  right,  looking  kindly  at  the  child,  while  the  Danaid 
looks  sadly  at  the  opening  of  the  jug  ;  the  drapery,  which 
covered  only  the  right  hip  and  forearm  of  the  Danaid,  is 
drawn  away  from  the  arm  of  the  nymph,  and  gathered  into 
a  knot  in  her  lap.  The  difference  in  the  clothing,  the 
opposite  turn  of  the  head,  and  the  slight  change  in  the 
hands,  are  sufficient  to  change  the  whole  figure  from  a 
Danaid  into  a  very  opposite  subject,  full  of  the  expression 
of  joy. 

The  repetition  of  the  Danaid  was  not  yet  begun  when 
the  king  died,  but  his  successor  renewed  the  commission, 
and  after  long  delays  it  was  finished  in  1852,  and  was  one 
of  the  last  great  works  in  marble  by  the  master.  It  now 
stands  in  an  excellent  position  in  the  Orangery,  where  the 
whole  beauty  of  the  statue  appears.  She  stands  in  her 
full  beauty,  between  girlhood  and  womanhood,  with  her 
bowed  head,  emptying  the  unhappy  urn.  The  delicate 
head  and  the  deep  sadness  of  the  face  mark  the  Danaid. 
The  companion  of  the  Danaid,  the  Eurydice,  had  also  a  life- 
history  of  ten  years.  In  1836  Ranch  received  a  commission 
for  two  statues  for  the  Duke  of  Orleans,  to  be  placed  in 
the  Tuileries.  As  the  Duke  of  Orleans  a  few  weeks  later 
stopped  in  Berlin  on  his  bridal-tour,  he  came  to  Rauch's 
atelier,  and  remained  three-quarters  of  an  hour  carefully 
examining  the  works.  The  duke  chose  for  his  own  room 
a  sketch  of  a  sitting  Eurydice,  to  be  executed  life-size  in 
marble,  and  ordered  it  with  the  most  flattering  expres- 
sions of  hope  of  a  speedy  execution.  In  1839  Rauch 
worked  on  the  clay  model  which  Blaser  had  prepared. 
It  remained,  however,  until  1843,  almost  fifteen  months 
after  the  violent  death  of  the  Duke  of  Orleans,  when  at 
Rietschel's  entreaty  Rauch  had  the  model  again  brought 
into  the  lower  workroom,  in  order  to  continue  the  work. 
"  Grace  a  Dieu  et  Mitsching"  he  writes  to  Rietschel,  "that 
it  is  not  fallen  to  pieces."  Mitsching,  the  true  servant  of 


2/0  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

the  atelier,  had  taken  so  much  pleasure  in  the  model 
found  abandoned  in  the  upper  workshop,  that  with  his 
own  hand  he  had  kept  the  clay  moist  all  these  years. 
"  All  the  woodwork,  even  the  pegs  in  the  tripod  (as  a  nat- 
ural consequence),  were  rotted  away,  and  yet  the  figure 
was  preserved,  although  in  fact  only  the  iron  and  the  clay 
remained ;  and  she  now  stands  screwed  into  a  new  plinth, 
as  if  she  were  imprisoned."  Once  Rauch  set  his  hand 
to  the  continuance  of  the  work.  But  since  Mitsching 
dared  no  longer  continue  his  peculiar  method  of  preserva- 
tion under  the  eyes  of  the  master  of  the  atelier,  Eurydice 
succumbed  to  her  fate,  and  was  one  day  found  fallen  into 
dust. 

When  Rauch  returned  from  the  glorious  unveiling  of 
the  Diirer  monument  at  Nuremberg,  he  found  preparations 
making  for  the  ceremony  of  laying  the  corner-stone  of  the 
monument  to  Frederic  the  Great,  of  which  I  have  spoken 
already.  The  king  was  so  sick  that  he  could  only  look 
out  of  the  window  in  his  night-robe  for  five  minutes  at  the 
pageant,  with  which  he  expressed  his  satisfaction.  Rauch 
writes  in  his  diary  :  "  It  was  an  exciting,  poetic,  tragic 
moment  as  the  conclusion  of  the  good  king's  life.  From 
this  hour  until  that  of  his  decease,  the  surrounding  of 
his  dwelling  by  sympathizing  friends  only  ceased  when 
the  body  was  taken  to  Charlottenburg  to  its  last  rest." 
There,  thirty  years  before,  at  the  king's  command,  Rauch 
had  awakened  his  lost  queen  to  life  in  marble,  and  there- 
with laid  the  foundation  of  his  artist's  fame. 

We  can  imagine  how  deeply  the  parting  with  the  king, 
who  had  been  so  generous  and  kind  a  master  to  the  young 
artist,  affected  the  old  sculptor.  History  is  severe  upon 
Wilhelm  Friedrich  III.  It  is  good,  therefore,  to  have  seen 
him  in  his  private  relations,  and  know  him  as  Lessing 
says  God  does  :  — 

"Der  du  allein  den  Menschen  nicht 
Nach  seinen  Thaten  brauchst  zu  richten,  die 
So  selten  seine  Thaten  sind,  O  Gott !  " 


POLITICAL    CHANGES  271 

King  Wilhelm  IV.  mounted  the  Prussian  throne,  and  not 
only  Prussia,  but  all  Germany,  turned  its  eyes  to  him  with 
earnest  desire  and  expectation.  Rauch  remarks  in  his 
diary,  "  Friedrich  Wilhelm  IV.  can  mark  the  beginning  of 
his  reign  by  no  finer  act  than  by  the  publication  of  two 
documents  which  were  given  to  him  on  the  day  of  his 
father's  death."  These  were  the  last  will  of  the  dead 
king,  and  his  admonition  to  his  "dear  Fritz  in  undertak- 
ing the  office  of  ruling,  with  the  whole  weight  of  its  re- 
sponsibility." 

I  cannot  follow  out  the  history  of  the  stormy  times 
after  the  ascent  of  Friedrich  Wilhelm  IV.  to  the  throne. 
The  people  were  in  a  ferment  of  hope  and  expectation 
that  the  new  reign  was  to  bring  all  they  desired  of  free- 
dom and  prosperity,  and  every  form  of  wild  scheme  and 
visionary  plan  found  enthusiastic  followers.  The  king 
shared  many  of  the  feelings  of  the  time,  but  he  had  not 
the  wisdom  and  strength  needed  to  lead  the  country. 
We  may  now  see  how  the  noblest  feeling  and  thought  of 
that  time  was  striving  to  bring  about  national  unity  and 
constitutional  freedom ;  but  in  the  midst  of  the  struggle 
it  was  not  always  easy  to  recognize  what  was  the  wisest 
and  truest  statesmanship.  I  shall  only  try  to  show  how 
Rauch  was  affected  by  the  changes. 

While  he  certainly  was  not  a  bigoted  opponent  of  prog- 
ress, and  always  belonged  to  the  people  in  sympathy  of 
feeling,  he  had  yet  been  brought  up,  and  lived,  we  may 
say,  all  his  life  in  affectionate  relations  with  royalty.  He 
loved  peace  and  order ;  and  if  he  were  an  idealist  in  his 
love  of  beauty  in  art,  he  was  not  an  extremist  in  his  devo- 
tion to  theory  in  politics.  He  loved  his  country  as  an 
actual  personality,  and  was,  as  we  have  seen,  thrilled  by 
her  danger,  and  most  happy  in  her  salvation  ;  but  he  was 
not  a  statesman  with  far-reaching  views  of  her  future  des- 
tiny. The  confusion  in  church  and  state,  arising  from  the 
half-way  measures  and  weak  action  of  the  government,  was 


2/2  'LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

distressing  to  him.  He  writes  to  Rietschel,  "  How  irri- 
tating is  this  drift  of  events  !  "  and  asks  him  if  it  is  the 
same  in  Dresden.  He  cannot  be  enthusiastic  even  for 
the  gift  of  the  constitution,  longed  for  since  1815,  and 
now  called  Landtag,  which  was  established  on  thor- 
oughly stable  grounds  in  1847  :  the  artists  were  not  rep- 
resented, even  at  the  opening  of  the  Landtag,  at  which 
only  the  outward  appearance,  the  extraordinary  display  in 
the  church  and  the  "  White  Hall,"  seem  to  him  worthy 
of  mention. 

Sooner  than  was  expected  the  constitution  was  over- 
thrown in  that  fearful  night  of  March,  1848,  whose  hor- 
rors in  the  immediate  neighborhood  of  the  Lagerhaus  he 
lived  through  with  his  people.  What  troubled  him  most  in 
this  fierce  outbreak  of  political  passion  was  the  deliberate 
conspiracy  in  imitation  of  the  Parisians.  The  seventy-one 
years'  veteran  did  not  withdraw  from  active  participation 
in  the  measures  taken  to  calm  the  raging  waves  :  he 
helped  in  the  organization  of  the  artist  troop  to  join  the 
Burgerwehr  and  the  student-corps  ;  and  he  writes  to  his 
Rietschel,  "A  wee'k  of  distress,  of  uncertainty,  in  which 
we  spent  our  nights,  is  indeed  over,  but  not  the  impression 
of  what  we  have  lived  through,  and  what  is  before  us  in 
the  near  future.  Who  could  have  believed  this  move- 
ment to  be  so  colossal,  and  the  downfall  of  the  existing 
conditions  so  irresistible  ?  Where  is  counsel,  where  is  an 
outlet  to  good  to  be  found?"  The  only  comfort  to  him 
and  his  people  is,  "  that  the  worst  has  not  happened  :  our 
king  lived,  and  was  active  in  all  that  the  event  demanded 
of  him.  God  can  now  help  further.  What  the  govern- 
ment have  delayed  to  do  for  three  and  thirty  years  will 
now  arise  in  a  new  form  for  Germany.  The  Hohen- 
staufens  desired  it :  may  we  live  to  see  it  !  " 

He  feared  that  the  worst  excesses  of  communism  would 
prevail,  if  the  good  sense  of  the  burghers  and  land-holders 
did  not  hold  them  back  from  the  abyss  of  a  German  re- 


POLITICAL    CHANGES  2/3 

public,  to  which  the  eloquence  of  all  sorts  of  vagrants 
seemed  to  be  driving  them.  He  believes  that  future  gen- 
erations will  see  better  days,  but  that  first  of  all  princes 
and  people  will  be  lost  in  distress  and  rudeness,  through 
the  "trinity  of  universal  arming  of  the  people,  direct  suf- 
frage, and  free  press."  If  these  expressions  seem  extrav- 
agant to  us,  we  must  remember  the  excitement  of  the 
times;  that  Rauch's  politics  were  very  much  matters  of 
feeling,  and  that  in  a  diary  and  familiar  letters  one  does 
not  always  choose  his  words  very  carefully. 

Towards  the  end  of  the  year  he  indeed  saw  guaranties 
of  a  more  hopeful  future  in  the  calling  back  of  the  Berlin 
garrison  under  Wrangel,  in  the  disarming  of  the  Burger- 
wehr,  and  breaking  up  of  the  state  of  siege ;  and  on  the  sixth 
of  December  he  wrote  in  his  diary:  "The  news  of  the  day 
brings  great  joy  to  all  right-thinking  people,  on  account  of 
the  constitution  long  desired  from  the  king,  which  the  na- 
tion has  been  kept  out  of  through  the  most  infamous  hin- 
drances, caused  by  the  deputies  themselves,  until  no  hope 
was  felt  of  its  realization ;  and  now  at  last  the  king  him- 
self has  made  an  end  to  the  matter.  God  bless  him  !  " 

This  was  indeed  the  crowning  glory  of  poor  Friedrich 
Wilhelm  IV.'s  reign,  by  which  alone  he  holds  a  place  in 
history. 

Rauch  now  took  again  a  lively  interest  in  politics,  seek- 
ing to  promote  the  election  of  conservative  delegates. 
He  had  already  joined  thePrettssen  Verein,  and  stood  with 
his  whole  soul  on  the  Prussian  side  of  the  great  question : 
"  Shall  Germany  disappear  in  Prussia,  or  Prussia  in  Ger- 
many ?" 

He  felt  very  deeply  about  all  the  questions  of  the  rela- 
tions with  Austria,  and  thought  a  great  opportunity  for 
Germany  was  lost  by  the  refusal  of  the  king  to  accept  the 
role  of  emperor. 

But  whatever  bitter  feelings  Rauch  had  towards  the 
king's  public  policy,  they  did  not  disturb  their  private  re- 


2/4  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

lations.  Ranch's  personal  dependence  on,  even  his  admi- 
ration for  the  king,  increased  as  he  recognized  the  industry, 
the  patience,  the  depth  of  good-will  which  he  brought  to 
the  solution  of  these  problems,  which  not  the  call  of  his 
heart,  but  of  his  position,  put  before  him  in  away  that 
stirred  the  depths  of  his  nature.  His  hope  was  to  lead 
his  people  by  the  way  of  peace  and  ideal  creation  to 
higher  civilization.  For  that  he  felt  a  royal  vocation  and 
enduring  power.  But  the  movement  of  the  times  de- 
manded struggles,  especially  on  the  political  field,  which 
the  king  had  been  obliged  to  enter,  and  indeed  with  many 
far-working  happy  results,  but  without  his  ever  finding  in- 
ward satisfaction  and  peace  in  them. 

The  king  could  see  the  importance  of  the  encouragement 
of  art,  especially  of  architecture,  to  the  full  development 
of  the  nation,  and  herein  he  felt  at  home  in  the  exercise 
of  his  royal  functions.  He  was  always  in  close  relation 
with  Rauch  ;  and  in  the  midst  of  the  stormiest  days  of 
1848  he  sent  for  the  sculptor,  to  talk  with  him  of  artistic 
subjects,  or  to  discourse  of  ancient  Babylon  with  Hum- 
boldt.  Sometimes  he  was  called  away  from  his  harmless 
enjoyment  of  such  discourse,  to  trying  business  of  state; 
but  he  either  seized  the  first  opportunity  to  return  to 
artistic  or  literary  conversation,  or  he  took  up  the  pencil 
himself  to  sketch  a  plan  and  divert  his  mind  from  painful 
topics. 

Believing  that  a  long  and  peaceful  reign  was  before  him, 
the  king  at  once  began  to  consult  Rauch  about  great  pro- 
jects for  filling  the  vacant  places  with  statues,  and  espe- 
cially for  carrying  out  the  idea  of  the  great  equestrian 
statue  of  Frederic  the  Great.  Schinkel's  incurable  sick- 
ness was  a  great  trial  to  him,  for  in  his  classic  tenden- 
cies he  found  a  refreshing  counterpoise  to  the  prevailing 
romanticism. 

Rauch  at  this  time  took  a  warm  interest  in  the  devel- 
opment of  German  painting.  When  the  frescos  of  the 


POLITICAL    CHANGES  2/5 

museum  were  unveiled  in  1844,  he  wrote  in  his  diary:  "I 
never  experienced  such  a  powerful  impression  from  a  work 
of  art  as  from  this.  God  bless  the  artists  and  princes 
through  whom  arise  such  genuine  works  of  art  for  the  joy 
and  satisfaction  of  the  present  and  the  future  ! " 

He  writes  also  to  Rietschel  very  warmly  of  two  Belgian 
painters  who  exhibited  their  work  in  Berlin.  "What  will 
you,  what  will  the  painters  say  when  they  see  the  two  Bel- 
gian painters?  So  I  think  should  colors,  stuffs,  so  also 
the  light  and  shadows,  so  also  the  flesh  be  painted  on  a 
flat  surface,  —  what  dead  paints  does  Dusseldorf  give  us 
on  the  contrary!"  He  also  speaks  in  high  praise  of  Cor- 
nelius's powerful  cartoon  of  the  Apocalyptic  Horse.  He 
recognizes  Kaulbach's  merit,  and  speaks  of  one  of  his  pic- 
tures as  "thoroughly  beautiful  in  spiritual  meaning,  as 
well  as  in  finished  art."  He  calls  Kaulbach  spirited  as  a 
composer,  draughtsman,  and  painter,  and  hopes  from  him 
the  desired  leadership  of  art  in  Berlin. 

Rauch  always  regarded  art  in  its  widest  relations,  and 
was  not  fettered  by  any  school  or  form  of  art,  however 
strong  his  own  preferences  might  have  been.  The  awak- 
ened mind  of  Germany  was  then  expressing  itself  nobly 
in  painting,  architecture,  and  music,  and  Rauch  rejoiced  in 
it  all;  but,  as  Dr.  Eggers  says,  "The  plastic  art  of  that 
time  was  in  Rauch  and  his  school." 

The  change  in  the  Prussian  throne,  so  important  to 
Rauch,  happened  in  a  summer  otherwise  full  of  interest- 
ing events.  He  had  long  ago  been  invited  by  the  czar  to 
visit  St.  Petersburg,  and  he  now  decided  to  undertake  the 
journey.  He  embarked  for  the  city  in  1840,  on  the  steam- 
ship Hercules,  with  his  statue  of  the  Danaid,  and  he  ar- 
rived there  July  4.  The  voyage  was  made  pleasant  by 
the  society  of  Russian  officers,  and  although  he  could  not 
forget  his  experience  of  sea-sickness  in  1804,  yet  the  sight 
of  the  Russian  fleet  brought  back  more  inspiring  recollec- 
tions, of  which  he  says,  "An  indescribable  youthful  im- 


2/6  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

pression  was  that  which,  in  the  year  1804,  on  my  voyage 
to  Italy,  I  felt  in  the  roadstead  of  Toulon,  where  the 
French  fleet  was  stationed  which  was  beaten  under  Ad- 
miral Villeneuve  by  Nelson  at  Trafalgar.  From  the 
admiral's  ship  on  a  Sunday  morning  I  enjoyed  this  novel 
and  wonderful  scene  with  the  Count  Karl  von  Sandrecki." 
His  first  impression  of  St.  Petersburg  was  bewildering.  He 
says,  "About  six  o'clock  in  the  evening  I  went  with  Captain 
Mertens  and  a  young  Dessauer  Gartner  to  St.  Petersburg, 
whose  splendid  appearance  with  the  ferries  on  the  Newa 
filled  me  with  astonishment;  but  yet  more,  as  before 
the  statue  of  Peter  the  Great  I  looked  over  the  immensity 
of  the  splendid  square,  even  to  the  Alexander  pillar  with 
its  wonderfully  bold,  rich  architecture ;  my  mind  was  so 
stunned  I  could  not  take  it  in,  and  I  had  a  feeling  of  being 
overpowered  that  I  never  experienced  before,  and  that  I 
felt  again  more  or  less  every  time  I  took  a  walk  there." 
Four  weeks  passed  away  in  rich  artistic  enjoyment.  He 
was  especially  interested  in  the  equestrian  sculpture  of 
Baron  von  Clodt,  the  most  distinguished  artist  in  that  line 
in  Europe,  "whose  talent,"  he  says,  "after  centuries  has 
given  us  the  form  of  the  horse,  as  perhaps  the  Greek  art 
fashioned  it,  and  as  they  could  bring  forth  only  by  severe 
study  of  nature."  This  interest  had  a  very  practical  side 
for  Rauch,  as  he  was  already  engaged  in  modelling  the 
equestrian  statue  of  Frederic  the  Great.  He  spent  much 
time  in  Clodt's  atelier,  and  was  constantly  excited  to  ad- 
miration by  his  thorough  knowledge  of  his  subject.  He 
bought  casts  of  different  parts  of  the  horse,  as  well  as  of 
Clodt's  newest  works.  These  casts  are  in  universal  use 
at  the  present  day  as  material  for  the  study  of  horses. 
He  also  saw  in  Clodt's  studio  the  original  model  in  wax  of 
the  horse-tamers,  designed  for  the  pavilion  at  Peterhof. 
Clodt  brought  repetitions  of  this  group  to  Berlin,  as  a  gift 
for  Friedrich  Wilhelm  IV.  Rauch  says,  "  Here  before  the 
castle,  placed  eight  feet  high,  they  have  gained  in  size  and 


POLITICAL    CHANGES  277 

life,  and  give  this  terrace  a  beautiful  appearance.  The 
model  of  the  Tscherkess  horse  which  Clodt  sent  to  the 
academy,  Herr  von  Olfers  has  had  cast  for  the  museum. 
The  whole  front  of  this  horse  is  the  finest  which  the  art 
has  brought  forth  for  a  thousand  years.  All  my  paths 
now  lead  through  the  castle  in  order  to  enjoy  it."  Rauch 
modelled  Clodt's  bust  while  he  was  in  Berlin. 

But  this  was  not  the  only  pleasure  that  St.  Petersburg 
gave  him.  While  Rauch  was  staying  as  his  guest  at  Peter- 
hof,  the  emperor  ordered  from  him  a  bust  of  the  Princess 
Marie,  Duchess  of  Leuchtenberg. 

At  one  of  the  sittings  the  Emperor  Nicholas  sat  at  the 
same  time  to  Madame  Robertson  for  a  full-sized  portrait. 
What  a  stimulating  artistic  pleasure  was  this  rivalry ! 
Another  time  it  did  not  work  so  well.  The  sitting  was 
delayed  about  an  hour  ;  Rauch  was  out  of  tune  from*  the 
long  waiting,  and  the  model  sat  very  uneasily.  "  Besides," 
says  the  diary,  "  we  had  the  company  of  many  persons, 
and  a  French  reader  with  a  resonant  voice,  who  read 
Victor  Hugo's  'Louis  XI.'  in  his  best  pathos.  I  believed 
my  last  hour  had  come,  and  about  half-past  four  I  was  in 
a  condition  that  I  cannot  describe."  Yet,  in  spite  of  all 
this  annoyance,  the  bust  was  a  very  beautiful  work.  It 
was  finished  on  the  day  of  his  departure,  and  immediately 
ordered  to  be  put  in  marble. 

The  emperor  took  pleasure  in  accompanying  Rauch  to 
the  beautiful  villas  and  palaces,  but  he  enjoyed  most  of  all 
the  fine  collections  of  works  of  art.  On  the  birthday  of 
the  emperor,  at  the  Cathedral  of  the  Mother  of  God  at 
Kasan,  he  heard  for  the  first  time  the  celebrated  Russian 
church  song,  which  may  be  fitly  compared  with  the 
Miserere  at  Rome.  "A  song  of  the  highest  edification." 

Largely  enriched,  not  only  in  experiences  referring  to 
his  own  art,  but  in  the  fuller  acquaintance  with  all  art  and 
history,  Rauch  took  a  regretful  leave  of  the  city  and  all 
the  friends  he  had  made  there.  He  thought  St.  Petersburg, 


2/8  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

as  an  art  station,  equally  if  not  more  important  than 
Munich,  Vienna,  Dresden,  or  Berlin.  The  Duke  and 
Duchess  of  Leuchtenberg  urgently  invited  him  to  spend 
a  year  with  them,  as  a  guide  to  art,  in  Italy.  The  empress 
expressed  a  similar  wish  some  years  later,  but  Rauch  could 
not  leave  his  accumulated  work.  The  emperor  ordered  a 
four-foot-high  knightly  statue  of  the  blessed  king,  as  well 
as  a  similar  representation  of  the  Frederic  monument  in 
bronze.  "  If  I  were  only  a  forty-year-old,"  cried  Rauch, 
"  what  might  I  not  now  begin  ?  But  such  an  old  dry 
stick  !  "  The  emperor,  after  urgent  invitations  to  renew 
his  visit,  took  an  affectionate  leave  of  him,  and  on  the 
first  of  August  he  again  stepped  on  board  the  Hercules ; 
and,  after  a  pleasant  voyage  and  a  short  visit  at  Herings- 
dorf  by  the  way,  he  arrived  in  Berlin  on  Sunday,  the 
eighth  of  August,  and  on  Monday  morning,  with  fresh 
courage,  he  began  to  set  up  his  St.  Petersburg  study  of 
horses  at  the  atelier. 

For  the  next  five  years  he  made  no  more  journeys,  but 
found  his  recreation  in  visiting  his  daughter  and  her 
increasing  family  at  Halle.  The  family  festivals  of  birth- 
days, baptisms,  etc.,  frequently  tempted  him  thither.  The 
introduction  of  railroads  at  this  time  brought  a  great 
increase  of  activity  in  all  the  large  German  cities,  and 
Rauch  exclaims  with  delight  :  "  To  Halle  in  five  and  a  half 
hours  !  "  It  had  been  a  two-days'  journey.  But  Rauch 
had  a  lively  desire  for  a  yet  closer  union  with  his  family, 
to  secure  which  a  professorship  in  the  Berlin  University 
was  desired  for  Professor  D'Alton.  All  difficulties  seemed 
to  have  been  smoothed  away,  for  the  king  himself  con- 
gratulated him  on  the  prospect  of  having  his  son-in-law  so 
near  him,  that  the  old  artist  might  gain  refreshment  daily 
in  the  family  circle,  and  rejoice  in  the  sunshine  of  old  age. 
But  a  few  weeks  later  these  hopes  were  shattered  by  the 
opposition  of  the  medical  faculty.  "  A  very  dark,  critical, 
decisive  day."  A  few  years  later  and  a  yet  darker  day 


POLITICAL    CHANGES  2/9 

brought  the  desired  living  together,  but  with  a  most  pain- 
ful void.  It  was  in  the  summer  of  1854.  Rauch  had  just 
returned  from  his  last  Roman  journey,  on  which  we  have 
yet  to  accompany  him,  when  fourteen  days  later  the  tele- 
graph brought  the  unexpected  news  of  his  son-in-law's 
death.  -Ranch  took  his  final  journey  to  the  much-beloved 
homestead  which  he  had  created  for  his  family.  The 
estate  was  settled,  house  and  garden  sold,1  and  the  wid- 
owed daughter  went  with  her  children  back  to  Berlin. 

Rauch  still  enjoyed  his  visits  to  his  friend  Rietschel, 
who  was  his  companion  on  many  a  journey  of  business  or 
pleasure.  Rietschel  was  invited  to  accompany  him  when 
he  wished  to  show  his  younger  daughter,  Doris,  the  beau- 
ties of  Saxon  Switzerland.  He  was  very  anxious  to  bring 
Rietschel  to  Berlin,  as  his  successor  at  the  academy,  since 
he  thought  no  one  so  well  fitted  for  the  place ;  but  Riet- 
schel was  already  first  at  Dresden,  which  was  not  a  village, 
and  he  did  not  care  to  change,  to  be  second  at  Berlin, 
which  was  hardly  Rome.  Rauch  was  delighted  at  the 
many  and  important  works  in  which  Rietschel  was  en- 
gaged, and  he  thus  prettily  congratulates  him  :  "  Never 
have  I  taken  in  hand  with  greater  joy  the  little  pine-tree 
(the  water-mark  of  the  paper)  sheet  and  pen  than  at  this 
moment  when  I  rejoice  with  you,  my  dearest  friend,  on 
the  good  taste  and  friendly  will  of  our  dear  king,  who  has 
given  to  you  the  execution  of  the  group  of  the  Pieta,  for 
the  Friedenskirche  in  Sans-Souci. 

Rietschel  also  refused  a  call  to  Vienna ;  but  Rauch 
never  ceased  to  urge  him  to  come  to  Berlin.  He  urged 
him  on  the  ground  of  the  great  field  opened  for  religious 
sculpture,  which  he  alone  was  well  fitted  to  occupy.  He 
calls  Rietschel  his  "master;"  "for,"  he  says,  "I  often 
stand  in  the  greatest  admiration  before  your  model  of 
Lessing,  and  especially  before  the  Giotto,  and  call  for 
your  counsel  and  help." 

1  It  passed  into  the  possession  of  the  well-known  historian  Dummler. 


28O  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

The  king  rewarded  Ranch's  loyal  affection  with  every 
mark  of  confidence  and  honor.  Ranch  notes  in  his  diary 
of  May  31,  1842  :  "  Morning,  six  o'clock.  To  my  great  sur- 
prise, and  without  the  least  suspicion,  I  received  through 
the  general-order  commission  the  insignia  and  the  order 
of  the  statute  of  peace,  l pour  le  nitrite]  from  his  majesty 
the  king."  In  the  Jasper  Hall,  at  Sans-Souci,  nineteen 
knights  of  the  order  were  on  that  day,  for  the  first  time, 
received  and  regaled  by  the  king,  who,  in  honor  of  the 
hundred  and  second  anniversary  of  the  death  of  the  great 
king,  had  established  this  order  of  peace  for  science  and 
art.  For  native  knights  he  had  elected  :  Cornelius,  Les- 
sing,  Mendelssohn,  Bartholdy,  Meyerbeer,  Rauch,  Schadow, 
Schnorr  von  Karolsfeld,  and  Schwanthaler.  Rauch  was 
present  at  the  banquet,  and  Dr.  Eggers  says,  "  He  was 
distinguished  in  this  circle,  not  only  as  the  first  sculptor 
in  all  Germany,  but  for  his  own  statuesque  beauty  of  per- 
son and  his  courtly  grace  of  manner."  He  felt,  indeed, 
the  claims  which  society  now  made  upon  him  as  a  severe 
tax  on  his  time  and  strength,  and  he  asks  Rietschel 
whether  it  had  been  as  bad  in  Dresden  this  winter  as  in 
Berlin,  and  he  says,  "  It  is  hastening  my  end,  and  is  phys- 
ically and  morally  destructive  to  the  rest  of  my  life,  which 
is  fast  growing  old"  He  notes  in  his  diary  the  names 
of  many  titled  visitors  to  his  atelier,  sometimes  with  an 
affectionate  word  of  comment ;  but  dearest  of  all  to  him 
are  the  visits  of  artists,  among  which  that  of  the  Nestor 
of  sculpture,  Thorwaldsen,  is  especially  welcome. 

In  his  diary  he  gives  an  account  of  the  festivities  of  his 
seventieth  birthday,  January  i,  1847.  After  giving  a  full 
account  of  the  music,  speeches,  etc.,  he  wrote,  "  This  was 
the  most  beautiful  day  of  my  life ; "  and  adds,  to  com- 
plete his  felicity  he  had  the  hope  of  his  daughter's  family 
being  reunited  to  him  in  Berlin.  We  have  seen  how  sad 
was  the  fulfilment  of  this  hope. 

On  his  eightieth  birthday  the  king  received  him  with  a 


POLITICAL    CHANGES  28l 

hearty  embrace  at  Potsdam,  as  the  only  guest  at  the  mid- 
day meal  of  the  royal  pair,  his  majesty  drinking  his  health, 
and  giving  him  the  highest  class-ribbon  and  order  of  the 
red  eagle. 

It  may  be  pleasant  to  know  that  the  dinner-cards  for 
the  birthday  feast  were  etched  by  Menzel.  In  the  fore- 
ground were  a  number  of  Victories  in  a  row,  dancing  with 
Blucher,  Diirer,  and  the  Polish  princes ;  in  the  middle 
ground  were  the  old  Fritz  with  Seidlitz  and  Zieten,  while 
the  Queen  Louise  in  the  background  floated  down  from 
the  monument  on  the  Kreuzberg. 

Another  joy  was  added  to  the  family  life.  This  was  the 
marriage  of  his  first  grandchild,  Eugenie  d' Alton,  to  Felix 
Schadow,  the  youngest  son  of  his  old  friend  Gottfried 
Schadow,  an  excellent  historical  painter.  Rauch  wished 
the  ceremony  to  be  performed  in  the  Lagerhaus,  on  the 
same  spot  where  twenty-two  years  before  Schleiermacher 
had  held  her  at  the  baptismal  font.  The  marriage  was 
happy  but  short-lived,  for  the  bridegroom  survived  his 
father-in-law  only  a  few  years.  The  birth  of  a  great- 
grandson  increased  his  joy,  —  a  Gottfried  Schadow,  who, 
at  eleven  months,  was  already,  delighted  with  the  Christ- 
mas-tree and  what  hung  upon  it ! 

Travelling  had  always  been  one  of  Ranch's  great  pleas- 
ures. His  habits  of  quick  and  careful  observation,  and 
his  deep  interest  both  in  the  world  of  nature  and  in  all 
that  concerns  the  life  of  man,  were  constant  sources  of 
novelty  and  entertainment.  Although  an  ardent  patriot, 
he  was  cosmopolitan  in  his  tastes  and  feelings,  and  could 
enjoy  a  good  thing  wherever  he  found  it.  In  the  summer, 
Ranch's  desire  to  visit  Copenhagen  was  quickened  by  the 
offer  of  delightful  companionship  ;  for  the  general  director 
of  the  museum,  Von  Olfers,  and  his  young  friend  Strack, 
wished  to  visit  Copenhagen  and  the  Thorwaldsen  Museum. 
He  could  no  longer  see  his  dear  old  friend,  for  a  year  had 
passed  since  he  had  written  sadly  of  the  death  of  Thor- 


282  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

waldsen  ;  but  he  recalls  the  fourteen  years  which  he  had 
passed  under  the  same  roof  with  him,  and  he  writes, 
"Thorwaldsen's  vicinity,  his  activity,  his  teaching,  formed 
the  basis  of  my  later  culture  ;  and  through  this  I  have  to 
thank  him  for  the  success  of  my  life." 

The  thought  of  Thorwaldsen's  death  may  have  urged 
him  to  delay  no  longer  the  fulfilment  of  his  plan  to  see  his 
friend  Lund  once  more,  and  to  make  a  closer  acquaintance 
with  Copenhagen,  which  he  considered  one  of  the  impor- 
tant art-stations.  They  arrived  in  Copenhagen  August  2, 
and  took  Lund  by  surprise.  Under  his  intelligent  guid- 
ance the  travellers  saw  all  that  was  interesting  in  art  and 
archaeology  in  the  city,  and  among  other  things  one  of 
the  earliest  of  Rauch's  busts,  modelled  when  he  was  in 
Naples. 

His  deepest  emotions  were  called  forth  by  seeing  the 
works  of  his  friend  brought  together  in  the  Thorwaldsen 
Museum.  At  the  reception  given  at  the  royal  court  to  the 
distinguished  guests,  Rauch  learned  to  know  the  splendid 
young  poet  Andersen,  who  presented  to  him,  on  the  fol- 
lowing day,  his  biography  of  Thorwaldsen.  This  was  the 
last  time  that  he  ever  saw  his  friend  Lund.  He  left  him 
happy  in  doing  good  work,  and  in  the  most  affectionate 
family  relations  ;  and  their  correspondence  lasted  ten  years 
longer. 

In  1846  Rauch  went  only  to  Halle,  but  in  1847  ne  went 
on  a  journey  of  technical  interest.  He  had  long  had 
an  earnest  desire  to  find  in  his  native  country  marble 
that  would  be  suitable  for  sculpture.  Prince  Albert  of 
Prussia,  the  owner  of  Castle  Camenz  and  larger  territories 
in  the  earlship  of  Glatz,  had  communicated  with  him  in 
May,  1844,  in  regard  to  his  efforts  to  make  the  marble 
found  in  the  Seitenberger  Valley  profitable.  Rauch  gave 
him  advice  as  to  plans  for  quarrying  it,  and  in  1847  he 
decided  on  a  visit  to  Dresden,  to  extend  his  journey  and 
examine  the  spot  for  himself.  He  was  warmly  received, 


POLITICAL    CHANGES  283 

and  saw  the  quarries.  He  found  one  vein  of  marble  of  a 
fine  crystallization,  equal  to  the  best  Greek ;  but  it  was 
only  in  thin  sheets,  two  to  three  feet  broad,  and  two  to 
three  inches  thick.  He  hoped,  however,  that  on  going 
deeper  it  might  be  found  in  larger  blocks,  and  he  thought 
that  it  would  be  very  suitable  for  the  restoration  of  the 
antiques. 

Rauch  did  not  lose  his  interest  in  the  mechanical  prog- 
ress of  his  art,  and  he  continued  his  work  in  the  academy. 
As  a  teacher  for  many  years  he  was  punctual  at  the  hour, 
in  order  to  pose  the  model.  Even  in  the  year  of  his  death 
this  activity  continued  ;  he  notes  in  his  diary,  July  27, 
"The  model  placed  in  the  Art  Saal.  Great  heat." 
Schadow  notes  how  for  a  month  Rauch  worked  on  a 
model  in  presence  of  his  scholars,  and  he  says,  "  It  were 
much  to  be  wished  that  all  professors  and  teachers  would 
work  thus,  since  nothing  is  better  for  pupils  than  to 
watch  the  work  of  the  master." 

For  academic  instruction  Rauch  laid  all  the  stress  on 
the  elements,  on  the  instruction  in  technique,  as  we  have 
seen  in  his  treatment  of  Albert  Wolff,  and  he  wished  all 
other  academic  studies  to  be  kept  only  for  Sunday  en- 
joyment. He  always  gave  his  vote  in  this  direction 
when  questions  of  academic  reform  came  up  in  the  coun- 
cil. In  1838  he  was  a  member  of  three  unions  for  secur- 
ing the  rights  of  property  in  works  of  art,  and  preventing 
unauthorized  copying. 

With  the  ascent  of  the  throne  by  Friedrich  Wilhelm  IV. 
the  plans  for  completing  the  cathedral  of  Cologne  began. 
The  Dombau  Vcrein  was  formed,  of  which  the  king  was 
patron  ;  and  a  committee  was  appointed,  of  which  Rauch, 
Beuth,  Stiiler,  Von  Olfers,  Krausnick,  and  the  two 
preachers  Ehrenberg  and  Strauss  were  chosen  members. 
The  king's  speech  at  the  laying  of  the  corner-stone  of  the 
south  portal  in  1842  met  the  liveliest  response  from  the 
whole  German  people,  who  united  in  the  popular  refrain  :  — 


284  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

"  Was  will  des  Teufels  Witz  und  Spott  ? 
Es  kehret  schon  der  rechte  Gott 

Auch  bei  den  Deutschen  ein; 
Nur  frisch,  Gesellen,  frisch  zur  Hand ! 
Macht  Platz  fur's  ganze  Vaterland 
Im  Dom  zu  Koln  am  Rhein." 

The  six  hundredth  jubilee  of  the  cathedral  gave  occa- 
sion to  fresh  expression  of  the  longing  for  German  unity. 
Rauch  and  Von  Olfers  went  as  delegates  to  the  Cologne 
Festival,  which  lasted  two  days. 

He  was  tempted  to  go  on  to  Belgium,  and  enjoyed  its 
many  works  of  art,  especially  with  Verboeckhoven,  who 
accompanied  him.  He  was  very  much  interested  in  the 
great  feast  at  the  unveiling  of  Simon's  equestrian  statue 
of  Godfrey  de  Bouillon,  the  first  great  work  of  the  artist, 
good  in  its  totality,  but  less  so  in  plastic  correctness.  He 
rejoices  with  the  happy  Brusselers  over  the  promise  in  it. 

In  company  with  Gallait,  the  painter  of  "  The  Last  Mo- 
ments of  Egmont,"  he  visited  the  exhibition,  where  he  found 
all  the  richness  of  the  Belgian,  Dutch,  French,  and  German 
schools,  of  which  he  "  never  saw  a  finer,  more  character- 
istic collection."  He  admires  the  boldness  of  the  sculp- 
ture, and  the  freedom  and  beauty  of  costume,  to  which, 
he  says,  "the  neighborhood  of  Paris  may  have  con- 
tributed." 

By  Mechlin,  Ghent,  and  Bruges,  he  went  to  the  sea  at 
Ostend,  and  then  back  to  Bruges,  in  the  company  of  his 
old  friend  Prince  Peter  of  Ahremberg.  He  saw  all  the 
works  of  the  Van  Eycks  and  Memling,  in  which  he  found 
no  end  of  enjoyment.  At  last  he  reached  Antwerp,  and 
had  the  fulfilment  of  his  life-long  wish,  as  in  the  earliest 
morning  he  saw  "the  greatest,  most  beautiful  master- 
piece of  Rubens,  the  '  Taking  Down  from  the  Cross,'  "  and 
once  more  by  evening  light,  at  the  song  of  the  vespers. 
Writing  to  Rietschel,  he  says  he  is  like  a  dry  plant  re- 
freshed with  the  dew,  and  he  longs  to  go  again  to  Ant- 
werp in  the  company  of  this  dear  friend. 


POLITICAL    CHANGES  285 

But  one  longing  still  remained  unsatisfied.  The  Elgin 
marbles  had  roused  his  soul's  desire  thirty  years  ago,  and 
the  more  he  studied  the  casts,  the  more  earnest  he  was  to 
see  the  originals,  for  he  had  important  questions  to  ask 
them. 

As  far  back  as  1838  he  had  bought  an  English  gram- 
mar, to  learn  enough  of  this  tongue  for  the  cooks  and  the 
coachmen  ;  and,  as  the  grammar  alone  was  not  sufficient,  he 
notes,  January  31,  1838,  "  Received  the  first. lesson  in  Eng- 
lish from  Professor  Buckhardt."  But  it  was  not  until  the 
year  1850,  when  he  was  seventy-three  years  old,  that  he 
was  at  last  able  to  take  what  we  may  well  call  his  "  student 
journey."  As  soon  as  he  reached  London,  where  he  was 
warmly  welcomed  by  his  friend  Bunsen  and  others,  he 
hastened  to  see  the  great  masterpieces  of  Greek  art,  the 
Elgin  marbles. 

He  writes  in  his  diary  only  :  "  Towards  evening,  in  the 
company  of  Bunsen  and  Dr.  Meyer,  the  private  physician 
to  his  highness  Prince  Albert,  I  visited  the  first  wonder- 
works of  antique  sculpture  at  the  British  Museum,  the 
Elgin  marbles,  taking  but  flying  notice  of  the  other  art 
treasures."  His  friends  seem  to  have  done  their  duty 
most  thoroughly  in  showing  him  all  the  sights  of  London, 
including  also  visits  to  Oxford  and  the  Isle  of  Wight, 
where  he  saw  Prince  Albert,  Queen  Victoria,  and  Bar- 
clay's brewery.  He  speaks  of  many  artists,  and  specially 
of  Chantrey  and  Westmacott.  It  is  impossible  to  recount 
all  the  interesting  places  he  visited,  and  the  works  of  art 
he  mentions  ;  but  he  was  most  deeply  stirred  when  he 
stood  with  the  Duke  of  Wellington  before  the  marble 
statue  of  Napoleon,  which  he  had  seen  Canova  model  in 
clay  when  Bonaparte  was  at  the  height  of  his  glory.  He 
saw  it  executed  in  marble  and  sent  to  Paris,  and  now  he 
found  it  at  the  foot  of  the  staircase  of  his  great  conqueror, 
shown  as  a  trophy,  and  surrounded  by  his  own  busts 
of  Friedrich  Wilhelm  III.,  the  Emperors  Alexander  and 
Nicholas,  and  Prince  Blucher. 


286  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

In  the  harbor  of  Portsmouth  he  saw  the  ship  Victory 
on  which  Nelson  met  his  death-wound.  The  British 
Museum  was  his  constant  study,  and  he  consecrated  his 
last  as  his  first  day  to  the  Elgin  marbles. 

The  son  of  Chevalier  Bunsen,  Herr  George  von  Bunsen 
of  Berlin,  has  most  kindly  written  for  me  an  account  of 
two  very  interesting  incidents  of  this  memorable  visit, 
which  make  us  feel  almost  as  if  we  stood  in  the  sculp- 
tor's presence.  He  says,  "In  1851  Rauch  was  invited 
by  my  father,  with  Francis  Lieber  and  many  another 
friend  of  his  younger  days,  to  spend  some  time  at  the 
Prussian  Legation  in  London  during  the  first  great  exhi- 
bition. I  had  the  honor  of  being  appointed  his  cicerone. 
Insolently  critical,  according  to  the  fashion  of  that  age,  I 
presumed  to  speak  disrespectfully  of  many  a  work  of  art 
among  the  monuments  in  Westminster  Abbey.  Contrary 
to  his  habit,  for  Rauch  was  a  ready  converser,  he  remained 
absolutely  silent,  except  to  draw  my  attention  to  some 
finely  carved  arm  or  telling  attitude.  Before  we  quitted  the 
Abbey,  however,  he  expatiated  to  me  on  the  life  of  bond- 
age peculiar  to  artists.  '  Two-thirds  of  all  an  artist  thinks 
and  executes,'  such  was,  I  think,  the  substance  of  what  he 
said, '  is  prescribed  by  the  age  he  lives  in.  We  may  ask  the 
question,  What  has  he  added  of  his  own  ?  We  may  admire 
the  subtle  diversities  which  raise  him  above  his  age.' 

"  During  that  same  visit  to  London  he  was  one  day 
taken  by  me  to  the  medal  room  of  the  British  Museum. 
I  well  remember  the  eagerness  with  which  Mr.  Vaux  and 
his  colleagues  complied  with  my  request  that  Rauch 
should  be  shown  not  necessarily  the  rarest,  but  the  most 
beautiful  specimens  of  Greek  coins.  He  looked  at  each 
lovingly.  He  praised  with  eloquence.  Then  of  a  sudden 
he  became  silent,  and  I  could  observe  tears  running  down 
his  cheeks.  *  It  was  not  until  he  was  outside  that  wonder- 
ful museum  that  Rauch  opened  his  mouth.  'You  must 
have  wondered,'  he  said  meekly.  '  But  all  my  life  have 


POLITICAL    CHANGES  28/ 

I  hoped  against  hope  that  the  boon  might  be  bestowed  on 
me  of  seeing  a  great  work  of  Greek  art  in  the  state  in 
which  the  artist  left  it.  This  day  the  blessing  was  con- 
ferred. It  was  too  much  for  me.'  ' 

Herr  von  Bunsen  thinks  it  may  be  needful  to  remind 
us  of  the  more  emotional  nature  of  the  German  to  ex- 
plain these  tears  ;  but  if  I  have  been  successful  in  making 
my  readers  feel  the  sensibility  to  the  sacredness  of  art 
that  distinguished  Rauch,  and  at  the  same  time  his  strong 
desire  for  completeness  and  perfection  in  all  its  works, 
I  think  they  will  sympathize  with  the  old  artist,  who 
was  at  last  brought  face  to  face  with  the  dream  of  his 
youth. 

He  returned  home  with  only  a  brief  stay  at  Bonn,  and 
with  his  family  at  Halle. 

Under  a  picture  of  his  atelier  drawn  by  Ludwig  Pietsch 
he  wrote,  "  Meine  Werkstatt,  meine  Heimath"  He  was 
yet  to  send  forth  from  it  the  crowning  works  of  his  life. 


288 


CHAPTER   XV 

LAST   JOURNEYS    AND    LAST    WORKS 
I8S3-I857 

AFTER  the  finishing  of  the  monument  to  Frederic  the 
Great,  only  a  few  works  remained  in  commission,  such  as 
the  statues  of  York  and  Gneisenau,  the  group  of  Moses 
in  prayer,  and  the  projected  Thaer  monument  for  Berlin. 
This  comparative  leisure  awakened  a  desire  for  travelling, 
and  on  the  fourth  of  August,  1853,  in  company  with  his 
daughter  Doris,  his  granddaughter  Marie,  and  a  servant, 
Rauch  started  for  a  journey  to  the  Rhine  and  Switzer- 
land. 

He  is  full  of  delight  at  everything ;  the  finished  cathe- 
dral at  Freiburg,  the  noble  one  at  Basel,  and  the  fine 
pictures  of  Holbein.  He  enjoys  all  the  works  of  art, 
and  the  meeting  with  old  friends,  as  keenly  as  he  does 
the  beautiful  scenery  of  Switzerland.  He  writes  to  Riet- 
schel  that  the  three  subjects  of  art  which  through  their 
magnificence  have  most  filled  and  blessed  his  journey,  are 
the  Lion  at  Lucerne,  many  cartoons  of  Veit  at  Carlsruhe, 
and  the  eight  study-heads  of  the  apostles,  by  Leonardo, 
at  Weimar,  as  living  and  impressive  as  the  Vindication  of 
Huss,  by  Lessing,  at  Frankfort.  Every  step  on  this  jour- 
ney appears  to  have  offered  either  new  objects  of  interest, 
or  sweet  reminiscences  of  the  time  when  he  saw  these 
places  in  the  company  of  dear  friends  forty-nine  years 
before.  The  following  year  brought  a  yet  more  delight- 
ful journey.  By  the  marriage  of  his  granddaughter 
Eugenie  with  Felix  Schadow,  the  son  of  his  old  master  and 


LAST   JOURNEYS    AND    LAST    WORKS  289 

friend,  the  union  of  the  families  of  the  two  greatest  Ger- 
man sculptors  was  happily  completed,  and  Rauch  decided 
in  the  evening  of  his  artistic  life  to  go  again  to  Rome 
with  his  young  friends  in  their  morning  of  joy.  He 
began  the  journey  May  i,  going  by  Leipzig,  Bamberg, 
and  Nuremberg,  to  Spliigen  and  the  Italian  lakes.  On 
the  ninth  of  May  they  reached  Milan.  Here,  on  a  rainy 
day,  he  saw  the  beautiful  cathedral,  which  made  even  more 
impression  on  him  than  ever  before ;  and  he  was  also 
deeply  interested  in  the  cartoon  of  Raphael's  school  of 
Athens.  At  Genoa  he  admires  the  beauty  of  the  city  by 
sea  and  land,  and  then  he  goes  through  a  wonderfully 
rich  valley  to  his  old  work-place  at  Carrara,  which  he 
found  greatly  changed  but  full  of  life  and  business. 
Here  he  spent  four  days  in  visiting  the  workshops.  He 
saw  and  admired  the  work  of  many  modern  sculptors,  as 
Tenerani,  Franco  Franchia  and  his  son  Giacomin».  An 
interesting  day  was  spent  at  Siena,  and  at  last,  on  the 
twenty-seventh  of  May,  the  travellers  arrived  at  Rome,  and 
took  up  their  quarters  at  the  Grand  Hotel  d'Ame'rique  in 
Strada  Babuino.  The  next  day  very  early  came  many 
visits  to  friends.  He  went  through  the  rain  to  the  Secre- 
tary Von  Arnim's  and  other  places,  and  dined  at  Wolff's 
with  the  sculptor  Wittig  from  Dresden.  "  In  the  after- 
noon to  St.  Peter's  through  the  sacristy.  Vespers  in  the 
Chapel  of  the  Canons.  Rained  all  day." 

Another  day  Tenerani  was  his  guide.  We  are  specially 
interested  in  his  visit  to  the  studio  of  Crawford.  He  is 
severe  on  the  equestrian  model  of  Washington,  which  he 
calls  "frivolous,  without  form,  without  truth,"  but  likes  his 
reclining  children  "  much  better."  He  mentions  also  four 
clay  models  for  an  allegorical  group  for  Boston.  May  31, 
among  other  places,  he  visits  the  studio  of  the  English 
sculptor  Gibson.  He  names  some  of  his  works,  especially 
a  beautiful  Venus  in  marble  polychromatic,  but  does  not 
give  his  opinion  of  the  use  of  color.  He  dtids  to  this 


LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

account  of  the  English  master,  "  Works  of  the  American 
Miss  Hosmer,  twenty-two  years  old,  a  prodigy  for  sculp- 
ture, very  fine  heads  and  sketches  for  a  Magdalene." 
Many  visits  to  sculptors  and  to  painters  (including  Corne- 
lius and  Overbeck)  are  noted,  and  then  a  visit  to  the 
Quirinal,  lately  put  in  order  by  Pius  IX.,  and  decorated 
with  the  Italian  colors,  red,  green,  and  white.  After  all 
these  visits  the  old  man  went  through  the  Columbaria,  the 
circus  of  Maxentius,  and  to  the  monument  of  Cecelia 
Metella.  On  June  n,  after  he  had  spent  the  morning 
in  the  usual  manner  in  visiting  studios,  he  attended  a 
feast  made  in  his  honor  by  the  artists  at  the  Villa  Free- 
born,  the  home  of  the  English  consul,  opposite  Ponte 
Molle.  English,  Belgians,  Americans,  Dutch,  and  Italians 
were  all  present.  He  returned  home  at  eight  o'clock. 

But  what  gave  him  most  delight  was  to  compare  the 
present  with  the  past  half  a  century  before,  and  to  recog- 
nize the  great  progress  that  had  been  made.  "  To  see 
this  again  in  its  whole  circle,  and  to  enjoy  the  new  with 
it,  surpassed  in  exciting  reality  even  the  most  ideal  pic- 
tures which  twenty-five  years  of  longing  had  painted,  and 
it  cannot  be  told  in  words."  He  gladly  recognized  the 
improvement  in  the  city.  "  Rome  is  more  cheerful,  re- 
newed by  cleaner  streets  and  squares."  He  notes  the 
improvements  at  every  step  of  the  way,  and  speaks  of 
the  delightful  afternoon  passed  with  his  friend  coming 
across  the  Campagna  back  to  Rome.  "  What  never-im- 
agined precious  moments  inspired  my  grateful  heart  and 
soul  with  the  feelings  of  the  present,  and  the  memories  of 
the  earlier  time.  I  dwelt  in  the  same  room  of  the  Casa 
Buti  as  fifty  years  ago,  heard  the  rush  of  the  fountain  of 
Trevi.  Even  the  same  chimneys  smoked  as  then  ;  but 
Signora  Laura  looked  no  more  out  of  the  Zoega  window." 
But  all  joys  must  end.  On  the  sixteenth  of  June  a  rich 
company  of  artists  accompanied  the  departing  guest  out 
of  Porta  del  Popolo.  The  diary  briefly  notes  the  summer 


LAST   JOURNEYS    AND    LAST    WORKS  29! 

beauty,  the  oak  woods  of  Nepi  and  Narni,  the  cypress 
wood  behind  Foligno,  and,  oh,  anti-climax !  the  sorrows 
of  the  hot  season,  "  Fleas,  fleas,  and  everywhere  fleas ! " 
Of  his  three-days'  residence  in  Florence  I  note  his  few 
words  of  our  own  Powers  :  "  A  pretty  statue  of  a  woman, 
Washington,  modern,  a  dreary  work  in  marble  ;  very  inter- 
esting in  the  mechanism,  key  and  spatula  of  gutta-percha." 
Of  Dupre  he  says  only,  "  A  model  bust  in  clay,  in  French 
allongt periwig,  handled  with  much  taste." 

Fortunately  we  have  in  Dupre's  own  memoirs  an  ac- 
count of  this  visit,  which  gives  us  a  vivid  sketch  of  our 
hero  :  — 

"  One  morning  a  gentleman  came  to  my  studio,  who  said 
he  wished  to  see  me.  He  was  tall  of  person,  dignified 
and  benevolent  of  aspect ;  his  eyes  were  blue,  and  over 
his  handsome  forehead  his  white  hair  was  parted  and 
carried  behind  the  ear  in  two  masses,  which  fell  over  the 
collar  of  his  coat.  He  extended  his  hand  to  me,  and 
said,  — 

" '  For  some  time  I  have  heard  you  much  spoken  of ; 
but  as  fame  is  frequently  mendacious,  in  coming  to  Flor- 
ence I  wished,  first  of  all,  to  verify  by  an  examination  of 
your  works  the  truth  of  all  I  have  heard  of  you  ;  and  as  I 
find  them  not  inferior  to  your  high  reputation,  I  wish 
to  have  the  pleasure  of  shaking  your  hand,'  and  he  then 
took  both  my  hands  in  his. 

"  '  You  are  an  artist  ? '  I  asked. 

"  '  Yes,'  he  replied  ;  '  a  sculptor.' 

"  I  wondered  who  he  could  be.  He  spoke  Italian  admi- 
rably, but  with  a  slight  foreign  accent.  '  Excuse  me,  are 
you  living  in  Rome  ? ' 

"  '  Oh,  no,'  he  answered  ;  '  I  lived  there  thirty  years  ago, 
but  now  for  some  time  I  have  been  in  Berlin.  I  am 
Rauch.' 

"  I  bowed  to  him,  and  he  embraced  me  and  kissed  me, 
and  accompanying  me  into  my  private  room,  we  sat  down. 


2Q2  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

I  shall  never  forget  his  quiet  conversation,  which  was 
calm  and  full  of  benevolence.  While  he  was  speaking  I 
went  over  in  my  memory  the  beautiful  works  of  this  great 
German  artist,  his  fine  monument  to  Frederic  the  Great, 
his  remarkable  statue  of  Victory,  and  many  others.  I 
recalled  the  sharp  passages  between  him  and  Bartolini, 
and,  without  knowing  why,  I  could  not  help  contrasting 
his  gentleness  with  the  caustic  vivacity  of  our  master. 
Their  disagreements  have  long  been  over :  the  peace  of 
the  tomb  has  united  them ;  and  now  the  busts  of  both 
stand  opposite  to  each  other  in  the  drawing-room  of  my 
villa  of  Lampeggi."  Dupre  then  gives  at  length  their  dis- 
cussion in  regard  to  the  proposed  removal  of  the  David 
of  Michael  Angelo  to  the  Loggia.  Rauch  used  his  influ- 
ence with  the  grand  duke  so  effectually  that  he  sent  for 
Dupre,  and  said  to  him  :  "  Rauch  is  entirely  of  your  opinion 
in  regard  to  the  David,  and  he  is  a  man  who,  on  such  a 
ground,  deserves  entire  confidence ;  and  I  wish  to  say  this 
to  you,  because  it  ought  to  give  you  pleasure,  and  because 
it  proves  that  you  were  right." 

Rauch  wrote  from  Berlin  expressing  his  pleasure  at 
this  decision,  and  urging  the  arrangement  of  a  proper 
place  for  the  group  of  Ajax  and  Patroclus,  '"to  receive 
worthily  this  work  of  sculpture,  divinely  composed,  and 
executed  by  Greek  hands." 

Rauch  continued  his  way  to  Bologna,  Mantua,  Verona, 
Triest,  and  Innspruck  to  Munich,  which  he  reached  on 
July  4.  He  had  not  seen  Munich  for  twenty  years,  and  he 
visited  all  the  monuments  with  the  zeal  of  a  young  man. 
Many  were  quite  new  to  him.  A  friend  writes  from 
Munich  :  "  How  have  we  rejoiced  in  his  blooming  health 
and  youthful,  glowing  soul ! "  He  was  greatly  interested 
in  visiting  the  foundry  established  by  himself,  where 
among  other  works  he  found  Crawford's  statues  of  Henry 
and  Jefferson.  The  same  day  he  visited  Herr  von  Klenze 
in  the  glass-house,  saw  the  front  of  the  Propylean  by 


LAST    JOURNEYS    AND    LAST    WORKS  293 

Schwanthaler,  went  to  Schwanthaler's  atelier,  of  which 
he  notes  only  "  much  indifferent,"  and  then  went  to  see 
the  Bavaria. 

The  next  day  Frau  von  Kaulbach,  whose  husband  was 
then  in  Berlin,  invited  him  to  a  feast,  at  which  many 
artists  were  present,  and  the  evening  was  closed  at  the 
artists'  beer-house  in  a  select  circle  of  artists  and  their 
companions. 

From  Munich  he  went  by  Bamberg  and  Wiirzburg  and 
Halle  towards  Berlin,  "  which  I  entered  about  eleven 
o'clock,  and  all,  glad  and  well,  welcomed  me."  He  writes  to 
Rietschel :  "  A  thousand  times  I  thought  of  you  on  my  truly 
refreshing,  beautiful  journey.  I  have  enjoyed  two  spring 
months,  May  and  June,  as  I  never  enjoyed  these  spring- 
days  in  my  life ;  and  were  a  repetition  of  such  enjoyment 
with  you,  dearest  friend,  possible,  I  would  willingly  give 
a  good  bit  of  the  remains  of  my  life  to  make  it  actual. 
Felix  was  my  loving,  splendid  companion,  and  we  enjoyed 
each  other  immensely ;  but  with  a  good  sculptor  friend 
one  enjoys  one's  self  on  common  ground  differently." 
Thus  successful  and  happy  was  this  last  journey  of  the 
silver-haired  man  to  the  land  of  his  youthful  dreams:  it 
shows  the  perennial  youth  of  his  soul,  that  he  found  it 
richer  and  dearer  than  ever  before. 

Yet  a  few  more  works  remain  to  be  briefly  noted. 
Even  as  early  as  1831  it  was  suggested  that  statues  of 
two  other  generals  should  be  placed  on  either  side  of  the 
Bliicher  monument,  and  in  1842  Rauch  writes  in  his  diary  : 
"The  king  again  recalls  the  sketches  of  the  statues  for 
the  two  sides  of  the  proud  Bliicher ;  one  of  the  always 
forward  General  Gneisenau  on  the  right,  and  the  other 
of  the  always  morose,  opposing,  but  yet  boldly  acting, 
General  York  on  the  left."  Rauch  did  not  finally  begin 
the  statues  until  1844.  Both  were  ready  in  1845.  Ranch 
had  designed  them  smaller  than  Blucher,  but  the  king 
thought  it  more  fitting  that  they  should  be  of  the  same 


294  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

size.  In  April,  1855,  after  a  delay  of  six  years,  the  king 
ordered  them  to  be  carried  out.  Various  changes  were 
made  in  the  representation,  but  the  differing  character  of 
the  two  men  was  preserved.  In  1852  preparations  were 
begun  for  the  bass-reliefs  of  the  pedestals.  It  was  finally 
decided  to  make  them  of  plain  granite,  the  reverse  side 
showing  the  arms  of  the  heroes,  while  Victories  with 
writing-tablets  were  to  be  placed  on  the  front. 

These  monuments  were  given  to  the  city  of  Berlin  in 
a  festive  ceremony,  with  a  brilliant  show  of  military. 

In  the  summer  of  1853  Rauch  received  from  Professor 
Hagen  in  Konigsberg  a  commission  for  a  statue  of  Kant 
eight  feet  high,  and  requests  for  an  estimate  of  the  cost. 
The  place  designated  for  the  statue  was  the  so-called 
Philosophendamm,  on  which  Kant  was  accustomed  to 
take  his  daily  walk.  The  great  model  was  begun  in  March, 
1855,  and  Rauch  again  experienced  the  old  difficulties 
about  costume.  He  complains  to  Rietschel  of  the  natu- 
ralistic ideas  of  costume  which  have  come  into  the 
life  of  art.  There  was  also  a  change  in  the  location, 
as  the  telegraph  poles  would  interfere  with  it  on  the 
proposed  walk,  and  it  would  also  be  dangerously  exposed 
in  war. 

Rauch  expressed  himself  well  satisfied  with  Gladenbeck's 
cast,  but  did  not  live  to  see  the  completion  of  the  work. 
It  was  not  unveiled  until  1862,  after  the  consecration  of 
the  new  university  building  at  Konigsberg.  Its  final  place 
was  near  the  northwest  corner  of  the  palace,  in  the  square 
since  then  named  Kant  Place,  a  few  steps  from  Kant's 
former  dwelling-place  in  Prinzenstrasse. 

The  last  work  of  portrait  sculpture,  at  the  very  close 
of  his  career,  is  a  noble  statue  of  Thaer  for  Berlin.  Far 
back  in  the  twenties,  when  Rauch  had  first  achieved  the 
degree  of  mastership  with  his  military  statues,  and  was,  in 
consequence,  besieged  by  commissions  on  all  sides,  he 
wrote  to  Caroline  von  Humboldt,  then  in  London  (June 


LAST    JOURNEYS    AND    LAST    WORKS  295 

28,  1828),  that  he  had  been  asked  in  reference  to  a  pub- 
lic monument  to  the  States-councillor  Thaer,  then  living, 
which  should  be  erected  in  Berlin,  and  should  consist  of 
his  statue  and  many  bass-reliefs.  It  is  considered  one  of 
his  grandest  conceptions.  Alexander  von  Humboldt  writes 
of  it  in  his  enthusiastic  style,  "  that  he  had  no  idea  that  such 
naturalism  could  so  bring  the  worth  of  the  man  and  his 
employment  into  harmony  with  the  demands  of  art  ;  "  and 
he  adds  in  his  glowing  panegyric  :  "  A  quarto  volume  might 
be  written  over  the  possibility  that  it  was  given  to  one 
spirit  to  create  the  Victories,  the  Sleeping  Queen,  Fred- 
eric the  Great,  Moses,  Kant,  and  Thaer.  Vous  nous  expli- 
querez  tout  ce la,  Mr.  Schadow,  Mr.  Kugler,  Mr.  Giorgio 
Vasari !  "  This  confusion  of  tongues  seems  to  be  neces- 
sary to  the  cosmopolitan  Humboldt  to  express  his  feelings. 

While  we  cannot  withhold  our  tribute  of  admiration  to 
the  long  series  of  Rauch's  military  portrait  statues,  on 
which  he  labored  with  a  heart  full  of  patriotic  devotion, 
and  which  have  undoubtedly  contributed  much  to  that 
growth  of  national  feeling  which  has  been  the  new  life  of 
his  country,  we  may  yet  rejoice  that  his  very  last  works 
were  in  that  province  of  ideal  and  religious  art  which  he 
most  deeply  loved.  He  had  already  made  beautiful  ex- 
pressions of  his  religious  feeling  in  the  statues  for  Arolsen, 
and  he  had  said  that  "  the  future  of  German  sculpture 
would  lie  on  the  religious  ground,  and  that  Rietschel 
would  be  its  pioneer."  This  was  said  after  the  comple- 
tion of  Rietschel's  Pieta,  and  Rauch  was  already  busy 
with  his  group  of  Moses. 

Rauch  had  also  received  a  commission  from  Sulpice 
Boisseree  for  a  funeral  monument  with  a  head  of  Christ  on 
it.  But  as  Boisseree  had  suggested  the  Christ  of  Memling 
as  a  model,  Dr.  Eggers  thinks  that  Rauch  was  somewhat 
fettered  by  the  old  German  manner,  and  that  this  Christ 
is  not  so  satisfactory  as  that  on  the  monument  of  Niebuhr. 

Rauch's  best-known  and  greatest  work  in  religious  art 


296  LIKE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

is  the  group  of  Moses  and  his  friends,  in  Potsdam.  Fortu- 
nately this  is  placed  in  the  vestibule  of  the  Friedens- 
kirche,  and  is  easily  accessible  to  strangers.  The  group 
illustrates  the  well-known  passage  which  tells  that  while 
Moses  held  up  his  hands  in  prayer,  the  battle  went  in 
favor  of  Israel,  but,  when  they  sank  from  weariness, 
Amalek  prevailed.  Therefore  Aaron  and  Hur  held  up 
his  hands  on  either  side,  until  the  victory  was  won. 
Moses  has  the  typical  emblems  of  the  two  bundles  of  rays 
about  his  head,  and  the  veil  falling  back,  and  he  holds  in 
the  left  hand  the  rod  which  the  Lord  had  commanded 
him  to  take.  The  costume  is  biblical,  a  lower  skirt  with 
talus-like  overdress  with  short  sleeves.  Aaron  kneeling 
at  the  left  of  Moses,  and  looking  up  at  him,  has  a  mantle 
thrown  over  his  dress,  and  supports  Moses'  left  arm  with 
his  own  right.  Besides  the  mantle,  Hur  wears  a  leathern 
collar,  or  breast  protector,  and,  while  looking  down  at  the 
battle,  he  supports  Moses'  right  arm  with  both  his  hands. 

Rauch  found  great  difficulties  in  the  treatment  of  this 
subject,  and  it  has  been  subjected  to  many  and  various 
criticisms  more  severe  than  any  of  the  works  of  his  youth 
encountered.  It  may  be  questioned  whether  the  subject 
is  fitted  for  historic  representation  in  sculpture,  as  the 
battle,  the  cause  of  the  action,  does  not  appear.  Others 
have  considered  it  purely  as  a  symbolic  expression  of  the 
power  of  prayer,  or  an  allegoric  treatment  of  the  thought 
that  the  army  and  church  are  the  support  of  the  state. 
He  himself  calls  it  his  "  swan-song,"  and  says  it  "goes  out 
in  sighs."  He  tells  of  the  long,  weary  winter  nights  when 
he  lay  sleepless  from  two  o'clock,  and  thought  over  this 
work,  and  closes,  "  Aelter  werden,  und  schaffend  arbeiten, 
gcht  nicht." 

In  spite  of  all  the  criticisms,  Eggers  finds  "  in  this 
statue  wonderful  life  and  harmony  in  the  movement,  in 
the  drapery,  and  in  the  contrasting  expressions  of  Hur 
and  Aaron ;  everywhere  the  repose  of  beauty  and  sculp- 
ture." 


LAST   JOURNEYS    AND    LAST    WORKS  297 

It  is  certainly  an  earnest  and  noble  expression  of  that 
mingling  of  patriotic  and  religious  feeling  which  makes 
the  peculiar  power  of  Hebrew  history,  and  which  Rauch 
was  so  well  fitted  to  understand  and  express. 

While  Rauch  was  engaged  on  this  great  work,  he 
turned  again  to  the  early  conception  of  the  child,  the 
Hope,  which  in  1848  he  had  modelled  for  the  church  of 
his  native  city.  This  was  carefully  executed  as  a  nude 
figure,  and  then  draped  and  winged  for  the  final  work  in 
marble.  At  the  end  of  the  year  1854  Rauch  allowed 
Medem,  a  pupil  of  Rietschel,  who  had  lately  come  to  his 
atelier,  to  begin  a  model  in  clay  of  this  nude  figure.  The 
action  was  a  little  changed,  and  the  hand  held  a  lotus  bud. 
A  toga-like  dress  w#s  laid  on,  and  Ranch  worked  with  his 
own  hand  on  the  clay  model.  The  lotus  flower  was  full 
of  meaning  to  Rauch.  The  bud  was  the  essential  thing 
with  him.  "  What  miracles,"  he  said,  "  are  there  not 
within  the  closed  flower-cup  !  "  It  was  the  emblem  of 
hope. 

This  was  recreative  work  to  him.  The  whole  fashioning 
of  the  charming  child,  the  significance  of  the  action,  and, 
above  all,  the  soulful,  confident  expression  of  the  coun- 
tenance, make  this  one  of  the  most  beautiful  forms  which 
this  master  has  left  us. 

Rauch  had  destined  the  Hope  for  the  grave  in  the 
churchyard  at  Potsdam  of  his  brother  Friedrich,  whose 
death  almost  sixty  years  before  had  opened  the  way 
which,  seeming  to  lead  him  at  first  away  from  art,  had 
brought  him  later  to  its  highest  summit.  But  before 
the  model  was  put  in  permanent  material,  and  the  sixty 
years  were  fulfilled,  the  master  himself  was  committed  to 
earth,  and  the  Hope  cast  in  bronze  now  crowns  the  tomb 
of  brown-red  granite  which  marks  his  resting-place  in  the 
Dorothy  city  churchyard  in  Berlin. 

The  last  work  which  Rauch  finished,  four  months  before 
his  death,  and  after  which  no  new  work  is  mentioned  in 


298  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

his  diary,  is  the  eagle,  in  high  relief,  destined  for  the 
ornament  of  the  government  building  in  Sigmaringen. 
It  resembles  the  eagle  with  the  lightnings  and  the  wide- 
open  wings,  but  this  one,  folding  the  wings  more  to  rest, 
sits  on  two  laurel  twigs  that  close  behind  him  in  a  wreath. 
"  So  fate  has  willed  that  the  master  of  the  plastic  art  of 
his  time  has  stamped  the  last  work  of  his  creative  hand 
with  a  symbol  of  his  mortal  pilgrimage,  —  the  eagle  rests 
on  the  conquered  laurel." 


THE    CLOSE    OF    LIFE  299 


CHAPTER  XVI 

THE    CLOSE    OF    LIFE 
1857 

ALTHOUGH  Rauch  in  the  later  years  often  refers  to 
feeling  old  and  weary,  he  really  retained  his  vigor  wonder- 
fully, and  in  his  last  years  his  health  was  better  than  it 
had  been  at  an  earlier  period  when  he  suffered  from  head- 
ache and  sciatica. 

"As  he  remained  young,  so  also  was  he  still  beautiful. 
Nothing  could  be  more  impressive  and  venerable,  and  at 
the  same  time  more  truly  friendly,  than  his  bodily  pres- 
ence. His  healthy  countenance,  his  clear  blue  eyes,  full 
of  earnestness,  goodness,  and  majesty,  his  silver  hair  flow- 
ing about  his  head,  reminded  one  of  Olympian  Jove." 
Even  to  the  last  he  was  constantly  to  be  seen  in  his  ate- 
lier, clad  in  his  dark  clay-colored  loose  coat  and  fine  white 
cravat.  Somebody  called  him  a  "wandering  work  of  art." 
He  would  listen  to  no  urgency  of  friends  to  lessen  his 
work  when  symptoms  of  old  trouble  reappeared.  Work 
seemed  to  him  the  indispensable  companion  of  his  daily 
existence,  his  comforter,  friend,  and  teacher ;  how  could 
it  hurt  him  ?  He  attributed  his  strength  to  the  fact  that 
his  daily  work  called  out  so  much  physical  force.  He 
used  no  bodily  exercises,  neither  danced,  rode,  nor  prac- 
tised gymnastics,  and  rarely  took  a  walk.  These  things 
seemed  to  him  idleness.  He  never  sat  at  his  work,  so 
that  in  his  old  age  his  feet  were  sore  from  standing.  The 
only  refreshment  taken  during  his  hours  of  labor  was  a 
glass  of  water,  which  Mitsching,  the  servant  of  the  atelier, 
would  often  hand  him,  saying,  "  Quite  fresh,  Herr  Pro- 


3<DO  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

fessor."  When  he  was  much  hurried  in  the  atelier,  and 
came  to  dinner  quite  exhausted,  he  took  a  half  glass  of 
wine.  He  would  smell  of  it,  and  say,  "  Divine  and  refresh- 
ing," and  later  drink  it,  and  feel  his  spirits  revive. 

From  the  royal  table  he  would  go  at  once  to  the  atelier, 
take  his  working-garment  from  the  servant,  and  give  him 
his  court-suit.  "  Work  was  his  life ;  he  prized  nothing 
but  beauty  more  highly." 

His  constant  interchange  of  thought  and  feeling  with 
his  friends  kept  his  spirits  always  fresh,  and  he  had  the 
rare  power  of  gathering  the  results  of  others'  investiga- 
tions and  making  them  his  own.  His  conversation  was 
lively  and  attractive,  and,  although  not  a  learned  man,  he 
stood  at  the  height  of  the  culture  of  his  time.  In  his 
diary  he  once  wrote,  "  Humboldt  said  of  Welcher,  '  He 
writes  too  much  and  too  diffusely ;  one  sees  that  he  does 
not  think  until  he  writes,'  which  frightened  me  very  much, 
since  I  often  find  myself  in  the  same  case  with  my  work." 

He  always  wished  to  give  the  last  touches  even  to 
copies  of  his  work,  and  objected  to  bronze,  because  he 
had  to  leave  the  finishing  to  another.  In  1855  he  went 
to  Karlsbad  with  his  daughter,  and  after  the  treatment, 
to  Dresden  to  visit  his  granddaughter,  Marie  d'Alton, 
and  to  see  Rietschel  and  Bendemann.  Accompanied  by 
these  and  other  artists  he  visited  the  new  museum,  all 
parts  of  which  the  king  ordered  to  be  opened  to  him,  and 
where  he  was  delighted  to  see  the  old  works  in  their  new 
position.  The  young  artists  gave  him  a  brilliant  recep- 
tion. He  saw  the  model  of  Rietschel's  group  of  Schiller 
and  Goethe,  and  the  frescos  of  Bendemann  in  the  dan- 
cing-hall of  the  royal  palace. 

He  was  very  much  interested  in  building  a  summer 
residence  at  Charlottenburg,  and  had  the  happiness  of 
passing  Whitsuntide  therewith  his  family.  -His  love  of 
nature  was  still  a  continual  source  of  pleasure.  He  notes 
all  the  aspects  of  the  weather,  and  the  earth  and  sky,  and 


THE    CLOSE    OF    LIFE  30 1 

rejoices  at  waking  at  three  o'clock  in  the  morning  to  see 
Venus  in  her  beauty  very  near  to  the  earth.  He  delights 
in  animals,  and  yet  more  in  the  human  form,  and  says  of 
Madame  Schroder-Devrient  as  Romeo,  "  What  a  wonder 
of  genuine  artistic  representation  combined  with  truth 
and  grace  !  " 

Through  the  union  by  marriage  of  his  family  and 
Schadow's,  it  came  about  that  he  kept  his  birthday  in 
1853  in  his  old  master's  dwelling-house,  in  which  festival 
the  Bendemann  family  joined. 

Ranch  kept  his  eightieth  anniversary  quietly  with  his 
beloved  daughter  Agnes,  and  in  the  evening  had  a  great 
feast  with  his  pupils  and  workmen.  Rietschel  came  to 
the  feast,  and  modelled  his  friend's  bust.  His  diary,  faith- 
fully kept,  gives  us  brief  notes  of  his  last  year  of  life.  It 
contains  affectionate  mention  of  his  old  friends  Humboldt 
and  Rietschel;  speaks  of  social  enjoyments  and  kind  atten- 
tions from  the  king,  and  of  short  excursions  for  health 
and  pleasure.  On  the  fourteenth  of  October  his  diary 
closes.  A  few  letters  followed  of  a  later  date.  By  the 
advice  of  physicians  Rauch  decided  to  submit  to  an  opera- 
tion. He  went  to  the  Hotel  de  Rome  in  Dresden  for  this 
purpose,  and  Agnes  d' Alton  and  her  daughter  followed  him 
thither.  The  anxious  friends  waited  a  week  for  further 
intelligence.  An  acute  attack  threatened  his  life,  but  it 
passed  off  without  fatal  results,  and  the  operation  was 
delayed.  His  physicians  objecting  to  a  hotel,  he  was  re- 
moved to  a  private  dwelling.  f  Here  he  revived  so  much  as 
to  be  able  to  take  short  walks  in  the  garden  with  his  grand- 
daughter. Every  day  he  wished  to  hear  from  his  atelier  in 
Berlin,  and  he  gave  orders  about  the  Moses  group.  Dr. 
Carus  gave  them  hope  that  his  strong  constitution  would 
yet  triumph  over  disease.  His  careful  daughter  Doris  was 
earnest  to  have  him  return  home,  but  she  was  invited  to 
Dresden  to  see  for  herself  that  it  was  better  for  him  to 
remain  where  he  was.  Before  she  arrived  an  attack  of 


3O2  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

Bright's  disease  reduced  him  very  much.  It  was  very 
hard  for  him  to  keep  patient  in  his  inactive  state.  In  the 
sleepless  nights  he  missed  the  clock  of  the  parish  church, 
which  he  was  wont  to  hear  from  the  Lagerhaus,  and  a 
striking  clock  was  procured  for  him.  In  the  morning  he 
liked  to  watch  the  kindling  of  the  light  in  a  baker's  shop 
opposite,  showing  that  the  active  day  was  beginning.  It 
was  hard  to  yield  day  by  day,  to  rise  later,  and  go  from 
bed  to  couch  only,  and  even  to  sleep  in  the  daytime. 
There  was  a  lessening  of  the  fever  and  slight  improve- 
ment when  Doris  came ;  but  the  attacks  soon  returned, 
the  brain  was  affected,  and  illusions  spread  over  the  clear 
consciousness.  These  clung  around  the  block  for  the 
Moses.  He  directed  its  raising  and  moving,  when  he 
meant  his  own  body  weighted  with  pain.  The  physicians 
had  no  longer  hope.  Felix  Schadow  came  on  the  twenty- 
fifth  of  November,  but  did  not  feel  sure  that  Rauch 
recognized  him. 

A  moment  of  returning  consciousness  reawakened  hope, 
and  Rauch  said,  "  I  must  try  my  strength ; "  but  it  soon 
passed  away.  The  next  day  fatal  symptoms  appeared ; 
but,  supported  by  Felix  Schadow,  he  was  able  to  speak 
with  clear  sense.  Almost  the  last  words  which  he  spoke 
were,  "O  my  Saviour,  must  I  then  die  here?"  Then 
his  senses  darkened.  The  third  of  December,  1857,  a  de- 
spatch was  sent  :  "  This  morning  toward  seven  o'clock 
softly  slumbered.  The  last  forty-eight  hours  without  pain 
or  clear  consciousness." 

His  earthly  course  was  ended.  In  the  Lagerhaus, 
which  had  been  so  long  his  true  home,  where  he  lived  the 
life  of  work  that  he  loved,  his  friends  and  fellow-workers 
silently  awaited  his  lifeless  remains,  the  statue-like  image 
of  the  soul ;  and  here  most  fitly  were  the  funeral  rites  cel- 
ebrated. Not  the  funereal  hangings,  but  the  unfinished 
works  around,  spoke  most  eloquently  of  what  was  to  be 
no  more. 


THE    CLOSE    OF    LIFE  303 

His  coffin  was  surrounded  by  all  classes  of  men,  from 
the  Prince  of  Prussia,  the  royal  household,  the  ministers, 
the  members  of  the  Royal  Academy  of  Art,  the  associates 
of  the  university,  the  artists,  the  city  magistrates,  and  the 
troop  of  pupils  and  friends,  among  whom  might  be  seen 
the  bowed  form  of  Alexander  von  Humboldt,  coming  to 
take  leave  of  his  friend. 

After  the  service  of  the  church,  the  preacher,  Doctor 
Jonas,  unrolled  the  picture  of  his  life  and  work,  and  Men- 
delssohn's song  of  "Sckeiden  und  Wiedersehen  "  was  sung, 
and  the  procession  moved  over  the  Konigsstrasse  and 
the  Schlossplatz,  and  then  took  the  same  way  that  we  saw 
Rauch  tread  in  the  height  of  his  glory  to  the  great  monu- 
ment of  Frederic.  Loving  hands  had  covered  his  statues 
with  wreaths,  and  the  Prince  and  Princess  of  Prussia 
waited  at  their  residence,  as  before,  to  greet  the  master. 
But  now  the  train  moved  on  to  the  place  of  peace,  where 
his  old  beloved  teacher  Schadow  and  so  many  friends 
rested,  —  the  church-yard  before  the  Oranienburgh  gate. 

"  But  before  the  laurels  and  palms  thrown  by  reverent 
hands  mingled  with  the  earth,  Lieutenant-General  von 
Weber,  the  old  gray  warrior,  after  giving  the  military 
benediction,1  prayed  for  the  fatherland,  that  it  may  have 
men  and  heroes  worthy  to  be  immortalized  in  stone 
and  bronze,  and  artists  who  may  know  how  to  do  it  as 
Rauch  has  done.  So  the  heroes  live  through  him,  and  so 
lives  Rauch." 

In  the  spring  of  the  following  year  the  academy  held  a 
solemn  memorial  feast  on  the  twentieth  of  March.  It  be- 
gan at  midday,  daylight  being  excluded,  and  a  clear  candle- 
light shining  on  the  brilliant  company.  The  highest  rank 

1  "  Den  Kugelsegen  nach."  We  may  well  imagine  the  old  general  standing 
by  the  grave  of  the  artist  who  had  immortalized  in  stone  so  many  of  his  old 
masters  and  companions  in  arms,  moved  to  the  deepest  excitement,  and  feel- 
ing that  no  blessing  could  be  so  fitting  as  the  salute  of  cannon  that  he  had 
so  often  heard  ring  over  the  graves  of  heroes. 


304  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

of  scientific  and  artistic  culture  was  present.  In  the  back- 
ground were  the  busts  of  both  kings  under  whom  he  had 
worked,  and  in  the  foreground  his  own  life-size  statue  by 
Drake.  A  beautiful  adagio  opened  the  festival.  The 
memorial  speech  of  the  secretary  of  the  academy,  Coun- 
cillor Tolken,  reminded  his  hearers  that  this  was  not  the 
festival  of  the  dead,  but  of  the  immortal;  and  he  drew  a 
sketch  of  the  great  artist's  life.  It  was  followed  by  a 
poem  by  Dr.  Eggers,  set  to  music  by  Taubert,  which 
resounded  festally  through  the  hall  in  prayer  and  thanks- 
giving:— 

"  Die  Briicke  zwischen  beiden  Welten, 

O  Herr  lass  aufgerichtet  steh'n, 
Zum  Trost,  wenn  deine  Auserwahlten 

Den  Weg  zu  dir  zuriicke  geh'n ;  — 
Du  gabst  ihn,  er  bezeugte  Dich, 
Du  nahmst  ihn,  —  wir  verehren  Dich  ! " 

"  So  was  the  close  of  the  earthly  career  of  the  master 
fitly  sealed,  and  Rauch  given  over  to  history." 

Occupying  an  important  social  position  as  Rauch  did 
for  so  many  years,  and  living  in  the  closest  intimacy  with 
most  of  the  best  artists  of  his  time,  as  well  as  possessing  a 
remarkably  handsome  face  and  figure,  it  is  not  surprising 
that  a  large  number  of  portraits  of  him  remain,  taken  at 
all  periods  of  his  life,  and  in  many  various  styles.  I  can 
mention  only  the  most  important. 

One  of  the  last  items  in  his  diary,  January  12,  1857, 
speaks  of  the  feast  which  he  gave  to  his  scholars  and 
workmen,  to  which  Rietschel  came  from  Dresden,  "and 
it  became  a  right  pleasant  supper.  With  my  daughters 
and  grandchildren  there  were  thirty-eight  covers  at 
table." 

"  Thirteenth.  Rietschel,  making  use  of  a  rough  plan  of 
my  earlier  bust,  began  to  model  the  new  bust  after 
life." 


THE    CLOSE    OF    LIFE 


305 


"January  25,  and  to-day  has  finished  it  in  masterly  exe- 
cution." 

This  is  the  beautiful  bust  of  which  there  is  a  cast  in  the 
Rauch  Museum,  which,  executed  in  marble  in  Rietschel's 
splendid  manner,  adorned  the  jubilee  exhibition  in  1886. 
The  finished  cast  was  sent  to  Rauch  the  second  day  of 
the  Easter  festival,  April  1 3,  and  was  placed  in  the  red 
chamber  before  breakfast,  to  surprise  him.  He  wrote 
to  Rietschel :  "  Your  hand  prepared  a  second  feast  full 
of  admiration  and  gratitude,  including  all  our  common 
friends,  who  delighted  in  your  skill,  and  rejoiced  with  me 
in  this  work  for  immortality.  It  was  a  great  festival  ! 

"  A  chorus  of  our  academic  colleagues  sounded  yester- 
day a  note  of  applause  of  the  likeness,  of  the  splendid 
handling  of  the  whole,  from  the  base  even  to  the  crown  of 
the  head,  and  the  harmony  of  the  single  parts  with  the 
general  effect." 

This  bust  gives  the  most  perfect  representation  of  the 
beautiful  artist  head,  whose  traits  will  always  be  remem- 
bered, since  it  was  taken  at  the  highest  period  of  his  life, 
the  loveliest,  the  most  spiritual ;  and  a  descent  from  this 
height  was  never  perceptible.  As  Rietschel  laid,  "  Rauch 
always  remained  young  because  he  began  every  work  with 
fresh  enterprise  and  zeal,  as  if  he  had  never  accomplished 
anything  before." 

His  friend  Drake  has  also  preserved  this  power  of  youth 
in  his  statue  of  the  master.  On  the  day  after  the  unveil- 
ing of  the  Frederic  monument,  Olfers  wrote  to  Rauch  :  "  I 
have  just  come  from  Potsdam,  and  have  to  tell  you  that 
the  king,  our  master,  wishes  to  see  your  statue  by  Drake 
carried  out  in  marble.  It  is  of  no  use  to  object  to  it." 
In  November  of  the  next  year  Rauch  writes  to  Rietschel : 
"  Drake  has  to-day  finished  the  model  of  my  unworthy 
self  v/ith  spiritual  and  technical  artistic  ability,  in  which 
you  may  see  the  "most  excellent  work  of  art,  as  very  few 
have  been  able  to  create  such  an  iconic  statue.**  The  crit- 


306  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

ics  of  that  day  fully  indorsed  this  praise,  and  especially 
ten  years  later  by  placing  it  in  the  hall  of  the  institution 
for  which  Rauch  worked  so  long  and  lovingly,  the  Museum 
of  Art.  Drake  also  made  a  profile  likeness  of  Rauch  in  a 
barret-cap,  which  was  cast  in  bronze  and  placed  in  the 
home  at  Halle. 

Bruges  made  a  colossal  bust  in  1852,  and  Vischer  a 
round  profile  for  the  medallion  for  the  unveiling  of  the 
Frederic  monument,  and  Afinger  one  for  a  circle  of  heads 
of  Cornelius,  Humboldt,  and  Kaulbach.  Gustav  Richter 
made  use  of  this  fora  colossal  medallion,  and  H\ibner  for 
a  drawing  published  in  Wilhelm  von  Schadow's  "  Der 
Moderne  Vasari"  and  also  engraved  by  Fr.  Wagner.  In 
1859,  after  his  death,  Wolff  modelled  a  profile  of  Rauch, 
which  was  set  in  his  monument  in  the  Dorothy  Church  at 
Berlin,  as  well  as  on  a  cenotaph  in  the  church  at  Arolsen. 
Later  a  tablet  of  black  marble,  with  the  profile  inlaid,  was 
given  by  Doris  Rauch,  and  placed  on  the  right  side  of  the 
church,  not  far  from  her  father's  statue  of  Faith.  The 
portraits  painted  in  his  last  days  are  less  satisfactory. 

Emma  Gaggiotti,  who  was  much  admired  by  Alexander 
von  Humboldt,  painted  an  oil  portrait,  which  hung  in  the 
villa  at  Halle  ;  but  Dr.  Eggers  thinks  it  is  only  decorative, 
and  does  not  give  truly  either  the  outward  appearance  or 
the  inward  character  of  the  artist.  A  life-sized  drawing 
made  by  Gigoux  for  David  d'Angiers  is  in  the  David  Mu- 
seum at  Angiers.  The  representation  of  Rauch  as  a 
sculptor,  by  Kaulbach,  in  the  fresco  at  Munich,  as  well  as 
the  one  on  the  staircase  at  Berlin,  is  hardly  intended  as  a 
portrait.  Representing  an  earlier  period  is  an  excellent 
bust  by  Tieck,  made  in  1827.  From  this  bust  a  medallion 
was  cut  for  Rauch's  sixty-third  birthday,  on  the  reverse  of 
which  was  the  wreath-throwing  Victory,  with  the  inscrip- 
tion in  Greek,  which  I  translate,  "  O  majestic  Victory, 
thou  wilt  never  cease  to  crown  him  ! "  Rauch  was  sur- 


THE    CLOSE    OF    LIFE  307 

prised  and  touched  by  this  honor,  and  praises  the  medal 
and  the  likeness  very  highly,  as  well  as  the  idea  of  the 
Victory,  and  the  motto  from  Euripides. 

But  the  execution  of  the  Victory  did  not  satisfy  him, 
and  he  thinks  it  was  engraved  from  a  poor  drawing  of  the 
statue,  so  that  when  he  wishes  to  make  a  present  of  it  to 
his  friend  Rennenkampf,  he  has  it  set  as  a  paper-weight, 
so  that  the  reverse  does  not  show.  Other  statuettes  were 
made  by  Drake,  Blaser,  and  others. 

An  oil  portrait  was  painted  by  Magnus  in  1831,  and  one 
half-size  by  Senf.  A  pencil  drawing  was  made  by  Gott- 
fried Schadow  in  1812,  and  engraved  by  Caspar  in  1830, 
and  also  as  a  wood-cut  for  the  first  volume  of  Dr.  Eggers's 
biography,  from  which  it  has  been  reproduced  for  this  vol- 
ume. Many  others  were  made  by  different  persons,  of 
which  we  will  only  name  two  little  portrait  medallions  in 
bronze  by  Vischer,  which  the  fond  father  had  set  in  gold 
bracelets  for  his  two  daughters,  and  a  drawing  in  black 
and  white  chalk  by  Schneller  for  Goethe's  album  of  his 
friends,  taken  during  his  visit  to  Weimar  in  1834.  Ed- 
ward Bendemann  also  painted  him  in  1838. 

In  the  last  years  photography  gave  us  a  faithful  repre- 
sentation of  Rauch's  person  ;  but  as  visiting-cards  were 
not  then  in  fashion,  these  pictures  are  usually  of  large  size, 
and  only  one  copy  was  taken.  Three  excellent  pictures 
were  taken  by  Schmidt  of  Berlin  a  few  months  before 
Rauch's  death,  and  are  in  the  possession  of  his  grand- 
daughters Eugenie  Schadow  and  Bertha  Bunsen,  and  two 
also  taken  in  Munich  by  Haufstagl  belong  to  his  grand- 
sons Eduard  and  Alfred  d'Alton  Rauch. 

At  earlier  dates,  1845  an<^  l%47>  are  excellent  daguerro- 
types,  and  a  drawing  by  L'Allemand  has  been  lithographed 
and  widely  circulated.  There  is  also  a  painting  by  Karl 
Begas  in  the  Hohenzollern  Museum. 

After  his  death   his  statue  was  modelled  several  times 


308  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

among  those  of  distinguished  sculptors,  as  ornaments  for 
galleries,  and  finally,  as  late  as  1882,  his  bust  was  painted 
in  a  lunette  in  the  hall  of  the  ministry  of  Cultus  at  Berlin, 
in  correspondence  with  those  of  Goethe,  Beethoven,  and 
Diirer,  representing  poetry,  music,  painting,  and  sculp- 
ture. 

A  noble  company  in  which  to  preserve  an   earthly  im- 
mortality ! 


RAUCH  S    SCHOOL    AND    INFLUENCE    ON    MODERN    ART       309 


CHAPTER  XVII. 
RAUCH'S  SCHOOL  AND  INFLUENCE  ON  MODERN  ART. 

WHEN  two  decades  after  Rauch's  death  the  centenary 
of  his  birth  arrived  in  1877,  the  Academy  of  Art  called  his 
friends  to  a  new  festival  of  remembrance.  It  took  place 
in  the  Cornelius  Hall  of  the  National  Gallery.  The  rep- 
resentatives of  the  highest  ranks  of  the  state  were  pres- 
ent, the  Emperor  and  Empress  of  Germany  at  their  head. 
The  bust  of  Cornelius  gave  place  to  Drake's  statue  of 
Rauch,  surrounded  by  golden  flowers  ;  and  the  relations 
of  Rauch  who  were  still  living,  and  his  friends  of  the 
old  time,  and  of  the  younger  generation,  filled  the  room. 
A  sonata  of  old  Giovanni  Gabrielli,  and  a  thanksgiving 
of  Haydn,  preceded  the  oration  of  Professor  Dobbert,  who 
with  a  full  brush  painted  him  as  "the  great  artist  who 
opened  new  paths  for  the  plastic  art  of  the  century ; 
but  before  all  as  the  historian  of  the  royal  house  of 
Brandenburg  in  marble  and  brass,  singer  of  the  freedom 
of  Germany  in  the  monuments  of  Queen  Louise  and  the 
generals  of  that  time,  and  by  the  creation  of  the  forms  of 
Victory,  as  the  ideals  of  German  popular  spirit." 

This  naturally  leads  to  the  consideration  of  Rauch's  po- 
sition in  art.  In  the  last  half  of  the  eighteenth  century 
monumental  art,  which  had  found  a  grand  but  solitary 
representation  in  Schliiter,  had  sunk  to  mere  meaning- 
less decoration,  in  which  it  mirrored  the  life  of  the  time. 
A  change  was  inevitable.  It  took  place  on  the  other 
side  of  the  Alps  through  Canova  ;  on  the  German  side 
through  Dannecker ;  in  France  through  Houdon  and 


3IO  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

Chaudet.  It  reached  its  climax  in  Thorwaldsen,  Scha- 
dow,  and  Rauch.  Thorwaldsen  developed  the  classic  side  ; 
Schadow  brought  out  a  noble  realism ;  while  Rauch,  as 
we  have  seen,  united  these  two  influences  in  their  best 
development  on  the  realistic  side  by  his  monumental 
statues,  on  the  ideal  by  his  circle  of  Victories,  and  in 
rich  combination  in  his  statues  of  Queen  Louise,  the 
Polish  princes,  the  Albert  Durer,  and  many  minor  works. 
He  followed  the  path  opened  by  Thorwaldsen  in  the  use 
of  bass-reliefs,  and  developed  the  true  principles  of  real- 
istic expression  in  this  important  branch. 

To  this  service  Rauch  added  great  value  by  introdu- 
cing into  Germany  the  skill  in  the  casting  of  bronze, 
which  was  then  flourishing  in  France,  through  which  was 
directly  established  the  foundery  in  Munich,  and,  by  the 
interest  and  rivalry  thus  excited,  those  in  Nuremberg, 
Berlin,  and  Lauchhammer.  The  wholesome  competition 
thus  aroused  led  to  an  improvement  in  this  industry, 
which  has  made  great  strides  in  half  a  century. 

Ranch's  art  was  a  continual  progress  upward,  and  the  de- 
scent did  not  appear  in  his  time.  It  was  a  constant  devel- 
opment, free  from  all  greed  for  originality,  that  "search  for 
the  new  which  appears  as  the  first  sign  of  decay  in  art." 
Ranch's  activity  was  in  constant  relation  with  that  which 
was  around  him,  with  the  ideas  of  the  national  history,  as 
well  as  of  those  of  art  and  culture,  in  which  the  first  half  of 
our  century  was  rich,  — a  genuine  son  of  his  time,  and  that 
with  full  consciousness.  When  in  1845  ne  learned  that 
Rietschel  had  finished  the  clay  model  of  Thaer,  he  expressed 
the  wish  that  he  could  see  it  before  it  was  cast,  and  added, 
"  That  which  has  arisen  living  before  us  can  only,  yes  only, 
strengthen  us  to  new  life-power;  every  creation  has  the 
atmosphere  of  its  day.  Ours  can  only  live  in  that  which 
surrounds  us." 

Dr.  Eggers  relates  that  when  in  Rome  he  heard  of 
Rauch's  death,  an  Italian  sculptor  asked,  "Who  will  now 


RAUCH  S    SCHOOL    AND    INFLUENCE    ON    MODERN    ART       31  I 

make  your  statues  ?"  for  the  feeling  was  strong  that  no 
one  could  continue  his  work. 

A  sense  of  the  importance  of  a  collection  of  his  works, 
wherein  artists  could  study  his  principles,  was  strongly 
felt.  Kugler  wrote,  "  Not  because  Copenhagen  has  its 
Thorwaldsen,  and  Munich  its  Schvvanthaler  Museum,  but 
because  Rauch's  great  artistic  activity  demands  it  of 
itself,  it  appears  to  me  time  that  the  foundation  of  a 
Rauch.  Museum  should  be  projected."  This  wish  was 
stimulated  by  the  remembrande  that  Rauch  himself  had 
deeply  regretted  the  want  of  a  collection  of  the  works  of 
the  former  masters,  Schliiter,  Tassaert,  and  Schadow. 

This  purpose  has  been  well  carried  out,  and  the  Rauch 
Museum  now  affords  even  the  hasty  traveller  an  oppor- 
tunity to  study  this  master.1 

To  few  artists  can  the  term  founder  of  a  school  be 
more  truly  applied  than  to  Rauch,  for  he  actually  created 
a  great  atelier,  into  which  came  students  from  north,  south, 
east,  and  west,  an.d  even  from  beyond  the  bounds  of  Ger- 
many. He  was  the  teacher  as  well  as  the  exemplar,  a  strict 
master,  and  yet  one  who  developed  the  individuality  of 
his  pupils  ;  as  Dr.  Eggers  says,  "  An  educated  soul, 2  which 
knew  how  to  be  a  master  among  disciples  and  a  disciple 
among  masters." 

Among  Rauch's  pupils  Rietschel  stands  at  the  head. 
We  cannot  speak  of  these  two  in  connection  without  re- 
calling the  tender  affection,  the  entire  trust,  the  profound 
respect,  and  the  delight  in  each  other's  work,  which  they 
constantly  manifested,  without  ever  trenching  on  each 
other's  individuality.  Perhaps  I  have  sufficiently  cele- 
brated this  relation  in  the  course  of  my  narrative  ;  but  I 

1  It  is  hoped  that  at  some  future  time  Rauch's  wishes  will  be  fulfilled  by  adding 
to  this  museum  the  works  of  his  predecessors,  Schliiter.  Tassaert,  and  Schadow, 
as  far  as  they  can  now  be  procured.  A  collection  of  his  pupil  Drake's  works  is  already 
in  possession  of  the  government,  and  will  be  placed  near  those  of  his  master. 

2  \Vho  will  give  us  a  good  English  word  for  gebildete  ?  Did  Paul  have  the  same 
thought  in  "  fashioned  in  his  likeness  "  ? 


312  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

must  add  this  word  of  Rietschel's,  written  to  Rauch  kn 
1 854.  "  I  hav.e  seen  with  admiration  Merten's  work  on  the 
small  reliefs.1  That  is,  indeed,  the  finest  thing  that  has 
been  done  in  art,  and  must  afford  you  the  highest  satisfac- 
tion. Above  all,  how  much  excellent  work  has  been  done 
here  !  how  great  is  the  number  of  skilled  pupils  !  What  a 
reward  for  you  !  to  be  the  founder  of  such  an  artistic  devel- 
opment of  sculpture,  and,  which  is  equally  important,  even 
of  the  industrial  progress.  What  a  rich  fruit  of  your  spirit 
and  your  activity ! "  Whe"n  these  two  artists  first  met, 
Rauch  was  already  forty-nine  years  of  age,  and  Rietschel 
but  twenty-two  ;  but  they  recognized  each  other  at  once, 
and  the  relation  of  master  and  pupil  soon  changed  to  that  of 
friendship.  Within  a  few  days  of  Rietschel's  entrance  to 
the  atelier,  Rauch  wrote  in  substance,  "  I  have  received 
young  Rietschel  into  the  atelier,  although  there  was  really 
no  vacant  place ;  for  his  beautiful  drawings  from  the  nude 
pleased  me  so  much  that  I  must  make  a  place  for  him. 
If  he  learns  to  make  half  as  good  studies  in  clay,  he  will 
be  a  skilful  sculptor,  and  I  do  not  doubt  that  he  will  suc- 
ceed. I  beg  His  Excellency  to  leave  him  three  years  with 
me."  Six  months  later  he  regrets  that  Rietschel  had 
not  had  earlier  acquaintance  with  work  in  stone,  and  adds, 
"  Dresden  will  be  proud  of  this  man."2  A  year  later  he 
is  moved  almost  to  tears  by  Rietschel's  success,  and  adds, 
"  When  so  much  geniality  and  quick,  active  perception, 
united  with  high  morality,  shine  in  him,  how  much  may 
we  not  expect  from  him  !  "  And  again,  in  1837,  in  speak- 
ing of  his  bust  of  Prince  Johann,  Ranch  writes,  "  After 
such  a  work  I  must  call  you  no  longer  pupil,  but  master  ;  " 
saying  that  Rietschel  surpasses  him  "on  one  ground,  and 
that  the  highest,  —  religious  sculpture." 

Yet    Rietschel    gladly   acknowledged    everywhere    the 

1  On  the  Frederic  monument. 

2  The  noble  Rietschel  Gallery,  which  I  unfortunately  saw  only  amid  the  confusion 
of  cleaning,  testifies  how  proud  his  city  is  of  her  promising  boy. 


RAUCH  S    SCHOOL    AND    INFLUENCE    ON    MODERN    ART       313 

influence  of  Rauch,  which  saved  him  from  the  extrava- 
gances of  the  Nazarene  school,  and  led  him  to  that  recog- 
nition of  antiquity  which  has  given  the  repose  and  beauty 
of  the  Greek  to  works  full  of  Christian  feeling.  He  re- 
lates that  he  once  entered  the  atelier  without  noticing  a 
beautiful  Niobe  which  had  just  arrived,  when  Rauch 
called  out  somewhat  sharply,  "  Have  you  nothing  to  say?" 
—  "  About  what  ?  "  I  asked.  "  Have  you  not  then  seen  the 
beautiful  Niobe  out  there  ?"  asked  Rauch  in  excitement. 
"  If  it  had  been  a  Madonna  would  it  not  have  charmed 
your  eyes  ? "  This  incident  gave  the  young  man  an  im- 
pulse to  the  closer  study  of  the  antique. 

Rauch's  teaching  was  always  directed  to  developing  the 
individuality  of  his  pupils,  rather  than  to  impressing  his 
own  methods  upon  them  ;  and  the  effect  is  most  evident 
in  the  work  of  Rietschel.  Constant  as  was  the  intimacy 
between  them,  each  speaks  his  own  thoughts  in  his  own 
language.  It  is  indeed  difficult  to  analyze  the  difference 
between  them,  but  it  is  easily  felt.  If  we  are  tempted  to 
say  that  there  is  a  more  delicate  grace,  a  sweeter  religious 
feeling,  a  greater  depth  of  soul,  in  Rietschel,  the  statues  of 
Faith,  Hope,  and  Love,  the  heavenly  calmness  of  the  Queen 
Louise,  the  tender  protecting  care  in  the  Francke,  the 
bright  joy  of  the  Victories,  rise  up  in  rebuke  against  us  ; 
if  we  would  ascribe  more  boldness,  freedom,  and  historic 
life  to  the  monumental  works  of  Rauch,  the  majesty  of 
Rietschel's  Luther,1  and  the  vitality  of  his  "  Goethe  and 
Schiller,"  make  us  hesitate  to  utter  our  thought  ;  and 
yet  the  difference  exists,  and  we  have  a  true  double  star, 
differing  more  in  color  than  in  glory. 

Dr.  Eggers  mentions  many  other  sculptors  who  were 
pupils  both  of  Rauch  and  of  Rietschel ;  but  as  their  works 
are  not  known  to  myself  or  the  American  public  I  pass 
them  by. 

1  Ranch  did  not  live  to  see  the  crowning  work  of  Rietschel's  art,  the  Luther, 
which  might  be  considered  the  finest  fruit  of  his  school ;  and  even  Rietschel  did  not 
see  the  whole  monument  finished. 


314  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

Next  to  Rietschel  in  Rauch's  affections  was  Albert 
Wolff.  As  he  was  nearly  forty  years  younger  than  Rauch, 
and  the  son  of  an  old  friend,  the  elder  artist's  relation  was 
a  fatherly  one. 

Wolff  was  introduced  to  Rauch  by  George  von  Strelitz  ; 
and  Rauch  took  a  constant  interest  in  his  studies,  and  care- 
fully prepared  him  to  profit  by  his  journey  to  Rome.  He 
prepared  for  him  a  guide  to  everything  best  worth  studying 
in  Italy,  and  also  proposed  many  subjects  which  he  wished 
him  to  investigate  for  him,  such  as  the  process  of  oxyda- 
tion  in  bronze  casting,  or  the  material  of  the  pillars  in  the 
dome  at  Genoa,  or  the  succession  of  frescos  in  the  Campo 
Santo  at  Pisa.  Reworked  on  many  of  the  most  important 
statues,  and  has  followed  Rauch's  methods  very  closely. 

Drake  is  the  third  of  Rauch's  pupils.  He  was  a  fellow- 
countryman,  born  in  1805,  and  he  entered  the  atelier  at 
the  age  of  twenty-two.  He  worked  on  the  Max  Joseph 
monument ;  and  his  own  beautiful  Schlossbriicken  group  of 
"Victory  crowning  the  Conqueror"  was  declared  by  Rauch 
to  be  a  most  original  and  well-executed  work.  Rauch  fre- 
quently praises  him,  and  finally  writes  in  his  diary,  March 
26,  1853,  "  Professor  Drake  sent  me  the  portrait  statue  in 
plaster  of  the  poet  Scheerenberg,  a  plastic  wonder  of  origi- 
nality which  I  place  higher  in  this  line  than  anything 
which  has  appeared  before."  l 

Bredow,  who  was  three  years  in  Rauch's  atelier,  was  also 
very  dear  to  Rauch.  He  sympathized  with  the  younger 
sculptor  in  his  classic  taste,  and  says  that  he  has  solved 
the  difficult  Homeric  problem  of  blending  in  the  represen- 
tation of  Paris  the  voluptuary  and  the  hero,  in  a  way  which 
neither  Canova  nor  Thorwaldsen,  and  still  less  any  other 
sculptor,  has  succeeded  in. 

1  Drake  has  produced  a  number  of  masterly  statuettes  of  Humboldt,  Schiller, 
Rauch,  Schinkel.  Beethoven.  A  group  of  singing  and  playing  children  for  the  portal 
of  the  Castle  Church  in  Wittenberg,  and  the  lovely  statuette  of  the  butterfly-catcher, 
which  was  exhibited  in  the  Jubilee  Exhibition  of  the  year  1886,  are  spoken  of  as  among 
his  most  charming  works. 


RAUCH'S  SCHOOL  AND  INFLUENCE  ON  MODERN  ART     315 

/ 

Kiss,  Blaser,  and  Afinger  were  also  highly  prized  pupils 

of  the  master.  The  statue  of  Ernst  Moritz  Arndt  in 
Bonn,  by  Afinger,  takes  a  very  high  rank.  Blaser  excelled 
in  historic  portrait  sculpture.  He  helped  Rauch  on  the 
Diarer  statue,  on  that  of  the  Polish  kings,  and  on  the 
Frederic  monument.  Many  excellent  portraits  of  his 
are  well-known,  while  the  ideal  figure  of  Hospitality  in 
the  National  Gallery  proves  him  a  worthy  disciple  of 
the  master.  Finally  Kiss,  who  was  twenty-two  years  in 
Rauch's  atelier,  has  won  European  fame  by  his  group  of 
the  "Amazon  struggling  with  the  Tiger."  Kiss  represents 
the  sculpture  of  animals  in  Rauch's  school,  in  which  the 
master  himself  took  great  delight. 

Many  other  names,  even,  as  Dr.  Eggers  says,  to  the  half- 
hundred,  might  be  given  of  Rauch's  scholars  who  have 
taken  an  honorable  part  in  the  development  of  German 
sculpture  ;  but  instead  of  attempting  to  name  them  all,  I 
will  rather  speak  of  a  few  who  were  more  his  companions 
than  his  pupils,  and  yet  .who  are  properly  considered  as 
representatives  of  the  Berlin  school. 

Emil  Wolff,  when  twenty-one  years  old,  came  to  Rome 
just  as  his  cousin  Rudolf  Schadow  died  after  a  short  ill- 
ness, and  entered  into  the  inheritance  of  his  activity,  and 
worked  earnestly  with  Rauch  for  the  museum.  In  1878 
he  was  still  working  at  Rome  in  a  vigorous  old  age. 

The  brothers  Karl  and  Ludwig  Wichmann,  one  two  years 
older,  and  the  other  seven  years  younger,  than  Rauch, 
were  pupils  of  Schadow,  and  fellow-students  with  Rauch  in 
Rome.  Their  merit  was  chiefly  in  portrait  busts.  Wich- 
mann made  eight  of  the  twelve  statues  for  the  Kreuz- 
berg  :  two  after  Rauch's  designs,  two  after  Tieck's,  and 
four  from  his  own. 

But  I  must  especially  name  Frederic  Tieck,  who,  if 
Rauch's  intentions  had  been  carried  out,  would  have  become 
with  him  truly  a  founder  of  the  school.  He  died  on  the 
twelfth  of  May,  1851.  In  Rauch's  day-book  we  find,  "  On 


316  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

Monday  evening  at  half-past  eleven  o'clock  ended,  in  the 
peculiar  weakness  which  has  for  a  year  made  him  incapa- 
ble of  work,  the  life  of  the  friend  of  many  years  and  com- 
panion of  my  workshop,  Professor  F.  Tieck,  —  a  life  thor- 
oughly devoted  to  art  and  science.  From  the  year  1812, 
when  I  learned  to  know  him  in  Rome,  and  again  when 
after  many  years  I  found  him  again  at  Carrara,  I  shared 
my  workshop  with  him,  according  to  my  changing  resi- 
dence, until  July,  1818.  Then  I  came  to  Berlin,  where  I 
made  a  place  for  him  in  the  royal  atelier,  and  also  gave  up 
to  him  the  works  of  the  new  opera  house  under  Schinkel. 
He  was  always  to  me  a  true,  dear  friend.  What  his  indo- 
lence, dislike  of  work,  and  pressure  of  debt  made  of  him  in 
the  last  years,  when  he  ended  his  days  in  every  kind  of 
increasing  degradation  of  outward  need  and  poverty,  I 
leave  to  the  reflection  and  explanation  of  the  clear  judg- 
ment of  others."  The  explanation  is  easily  given.  Tieck 
was  the  victim  of  his  weakness  of  character  and  his  ex- 
treme good  nature.  Inconsiderate  relations  used  him  and 
his  credit  in  such  a  manner  that  all  personal  assistance  to 
him  became  impossible.  On  this  weakness  was  shattered 
the  plan  of  a  common  atelier.  Rauch  recognized  his 
superiority  not  less  in  scientific  training  than  in  the  tech- 
nique of  art.  He  divided  with  him  his  work  on  the  can- 
delabra for  the  queen's  monument  and  for  La  Vendee,  and 
on  the  monument  at  Kreuzberg  ;  and  they  worked  to- 
gether on  the  monument  to  Scharnhorst,  and  the  me- 
dallions of  Humboldt  and  Goethe.  But  Rauch  was  the 
driving  power,  and  Tieck  the  one  continually  driven  ;  and 
so  the  desired  co-operation  was  not  established.  Rauch 
soon  surpassed  him  in  skill  as  a  sculptor.  The  work  on 
the  theatre,  and  that  on  the  fifteen  half  statuettes  for  the 
crown  princess,  show  him  at  his  best  in  art. 

Without  entering  into  further  details  we  may  accept 
Dr.  Eggers's  statement  that  the  first  half  of  our  century 
witnessed  a  real  advance  in  art,  the  greatest  since  the 


RAL'CIl's    SCHOOL    AND    INFLUENCE    ON    MODERN    ART       317 

Italian  renaissance.  "  If  it  was  one-sided  and  violent  in  its 
action,  its  energy  surpassing  its  technical  ability  ;  if  the 
new  wine  was  put  into  old  sacks  which  spoilt  the  taste  of 
the  wine,  and  the  present  has  done  wisely  to  turn  its 
attention  to  making  new  sacks  ;  still  we  must  remember 
that  the  sack  is  one  thing  and  the  wine  is  another,  and  if 
a  wine  is  yet  produced  out  of  this  fermentation  of  art 
theories  and  art  execution,  its  grapes  will  have  to  be 
ripened  by  the  same  old  sun  of  Homer,  which  brought  out 
the  bloom  of  the  renaissance  of  art  after  a  thousand 
years'  sleep,  and  roused  the  spirit  of  Germany  in  the  be- 
ginning of  the  century,  and  which  is  destined  to  lead  the 
spirit  of  the  German  nation  towards  its  ideal. 

"And  if  the  quickening  sunbeams  shall  arouse  again  the 
sense  of  plastic  art,  above  all  in  her  monumental  creations, 
it  may  again  bind  itself  to  Rauch,  and  may  strive  towards 
its  highest  aim  on  the  way  of  Rauch  and  his  school." 

One  final  word  of  the  man  Rauch,  and  the  character 
that  he  builded  through  his  life  and  work.  The  first  thing 
that  strikes  us  is  his  rare  good  fortune.  I  have  had  no 
thrilling  tale  to  tell  of  the  struggle  with  poverty,  enmity, 
and,  worst  of  all,  neglect,  which  has  made  dreary  the  lives 
of  so  many  artists.  His  career  seemed  one  of  almost 
constant  progress,  for  he  had  the  wonderful  alchemy 
which  could  turn  difficulties  into  triumphs,  and  failures 
into  success. 

He  was  well-born,  beautiful  in  form  and  feature,  vigor- 
ous and  healthy.  Reared  in  humble  circumstances,  he 
never  lost  his  sympathy  with  the  people,  but  looked  upon 
work  as  his  birthright,  and  a  good  workman  as  his  com- 
panion and  friend.  Withal,  he  had  the  great  blessing  of  a 
decided  vocation,  which  was  clear  to  him  from  his  earliest 
years,  and  in  which  his  nature  could  find  full  expression. 

His  first  trials,  the  death  of  his  father  and  brother, 
seemed  to  cut  him  off  from  his  work,  and  force  him  through 
filial  duty  into  the  life  of  the  court.  A  weaker  nature 


318  LIFE    OF    CHRISTIAN    DANIEL    RAUCH 

would  have  succumbed  to  its  temptations,  and  in  later  life 
lamented  his  talents  wasted,  and  longings  unfulfilled;  but 
while  faithfully  performing  the  duties  of  a  servant  in  the 
queen's  antechamber,  he  was  laying  the  foundations  of  his 
future  fame;  and  the  tender  relation  thus  formed  with  the 
royal  family  smoothed  all  his  future  career. 

Unlike  many  artists,  he  was  firm,  exact,  self-controlled, 
and  orderly,  and  was  rarely  troubled  by  pecuniary  difficul- 
ties ;  for  his  wants  were  simple,  and  his  economy  exact. 
With  a  passionate  love  of  beauty,  he  found  delight  in  nature 
and  art  at  every  step ;  and  with  tender  sensibility  of  feel- 
ing, he  had  a  rich  life  of  friendship  and  parental  joy. 
The  one  great  want  in  his  life  did  not  make  him  cold  and 
hard  ;  if  it  gave  a  touch  of  bitterness  to  the  sweet  waters 
of  affection,  they  were  still  pure  and  invigorating.  As  a 
master  he  was  strict  and  critical,  but  he  stimulated  his 
pupils'  powers,  recognized  their  skill,  and  rejoiced  in  their 
fame. 

Honor  and  length  of  days  to  the  full  measure  of  human 
life,  and  success  which  was  fairly  earned,  were  gifts  frankly 
and  modestly  enjoyed.  He  grew  more  beautiful,  more 
sweet  and  tender,  with  advancing  years  ;  for  his  nature 
was  healthy  and  true,  and  he  gave  and  received  with  equal 
directness  and  simplicity. 

His  patriotism  was  intense,  but  his  thought  was  cos- 
mopolitan, and  he  recognized  merit  in  every  nation.  His 
religion  was  not  speculative  nor  dogmatic,  but  sincere 
and  loyal,  and  content  with  the  forms  in  which  he  first  re- 
ceived it. 

If  he  had  not  the  very  highest  range  of  mind,  the  inten- 
sity of  Dante,  the  comprehensive  grasp  of  Michel  Angelo, 
the  spirituality  of  Fra  Angelico,  the  far-reaching  imagina- 
tion of  Shakspeare,  he  was  fitted  to  do  the  work  needed 
in  his  time,  — the  renewed  expression  of  the  great  thoughts 
of  humanity  in  broad  lines  of  artistic  beauty  which  would 
impress  them  upon  the  minds  and  hearts  of  the  people. 


RAUCH  S    SCHOOL    AND    INFLUENCE    ON    MODERN    ART      319 

If  he  has  not  led  modern  art  up  to  the  very  highest  point, 
he  has  placed  it  on  a  firm  and  broad  basis  ;  and  on  his 
shoulders  others  may  climb  still  nearer  to  the  heavens. 

In  writing  this  volume  I  feel  that  I  have  done  what  I 
could  to  carry  out  the  prophecy  with  which  Dr.  Eggers 
closes  the  volume  of  correspondence  between  Rauch  and 
Goethe.  After  comparing  their  mutual  work  and  their 
influence  on  each  other  to  that  of  the  great  linked  names 
of  Homer  and  Phidias,  and  Dante  and  Michel  Angelo, 
poets  and  sculptors  singing  and  chiselling  their  country's 
thought,  he  ends  by  saying,  "  So  may  Goethe's  produc- 
tions and  Ranch's  works  be  transmitted  to  distant  races, 
and  the  track  of  their  earthly  days  may  lead  into  times,  in 
places,  and  among  people,  who  late,  very  late,  may  be  called 
to  enter  into  the  rich  inheritance  of  German  art  and  culture, 
as  well  as  all  the  well-guarded  treasures  of  primitive  days 
and  of  hoary  antiquity." 

Rauch's  first  great  work,  the  Queen  Louise,  was  once 
in  American  hands,  and  was  near  coming  to  our  shores : 
one  of  his  last  busts  of  Victory  was  made  for  an  American. 
Let  us  hold  our  claim  upon  him  by  carrying  on  his  work 
for  art.  America,  the  heir  of  all  the  nations,  should  accept 
the  good  and  reject  the  evil  of  all. 


LIST   OF   WORKS 


INSTEAD  of  a  list  of  378  works  of  various  kinds  executed  by  Rauch  during 
his  long  life,  I  have  thought  it  would  be  more  interesting  to  have  a  chrono- 
logical table  indicating  the  date  of  his  more  important  statues  and  busts, 
especially  those  mentioned  in  this  book.  The  dates  usually  indicate  the 
beginning  of  the  work,  but  it  is  not  always  so. 

1795.     Stag's  head  for  Wilhelmshohe  Cassel. 

1798.  A  bust  of  Hofrath  Lenz,  unfinished. 
A  bust  of  Castellan  Meister. 

1799.  Seven  busts,  including  one  of  the  prince's  huntsman   and  a  young 

maiden. 

1800.  Wach  (the  painter)  as  a  boy,  bust. 

1802.     Artemis  and  Endymion,  first  work  exhibited. 

1804.  Ariadne. 

First  model  of  Queen  Louise,  bust. 
Profile  relief  of  Frederic  the  Great. 

1805.  Jason. 

1806.  Venus  and  Mars,  relief. 

1807.  Amor. 

1808.  Caroline  von  Humboldt,  bust. 
Gustav  von  Humboldt,  bust. 

1809.  Luise  von  Humboldt,  bust. 
Teresa  Calderani,  bust. 

1810.  Adelheid  von  Humboldt  as  Psyche 
Zacharias  Werner,  bust. 
Theodore  von  Humboldt,  bust. 
Monsignor  Capecelatro,  bust. 
Queen  Louise,  bust. 

1811.  Queen  Louise,  sleeping,  second  model,  bust. 
Thorwaldsen,  bust. 

Franz  Snyders,  bust. 


322  LIST    OF    WORKS 

1811.  Hans  Sachs,  bust. 
Admiral  Tromp,  bust. 
Van  Dyck,  bust. 
Gottfried  Schadow,  bust. 
Princess  Wilhelm  of  Prussia,  bust. 
Friedrich  Wilhelm  III.,  bust. 
Countess  Brandenburg,  first  model,  bust. 

1812.  Monument  of  Queen  Louise. 

1813.  Work  on  the  monument  in  marble. 

1814.  Profile  portrait  of  Friederich  Wilhelm  III.,  relief. 

1815.  Martin  Sehbn,  bust. 
Prince  Bliicher. 

Emperor  Francis  of  Austria. 

Emperor  Alexander  of  Russia. 

Candelabra  for  the  Mausoleum  at  Charlottenburg. 

jEsculapius. 

1816.  Friederich  Wilhelm  III.,  bust. 
Frau  von  Maltzahn,  bust. 
Prince  Wilhelm  of  Prussia,  bust. 
Prince  Hardenberg,  bust. 
Princess  Charlotte,  bust. 

Queen  Louise  with  crown  and  veil,  third  model,  bust. 

1817.  Funeral  statue  of  Queen  Louise,  second  model. 
Emperor  Alexander. 

Billow  von  Dennewitz. 

Candelabra  for  the  soldiers  of  La  Vendee. 

1818.  Scharnhorst. 

Count  York  of  Wartenburg. 

1819.  •  Apollo. 

Genelli,  bust. 

Count  Ingenheim,  bust. 

Frederic  II. 

1820.  Nymph  for  the  long  bridge  in  Berlin. 
Genii  for  Wartenburg,  Leipzig. 

Dennewitz  and  La  Rothiere  on  the  Kreuzberg  monument  at  Berlin. 

Bliicher  for  Breslau. 

Goethe,  bust. 

Armorial  Eagle. 

Victories,  with  the  Dragon,  Lion,  Eagle,  reliefs. 

1821.  Apostle  Thaddeus,  statuette. 

Statue  for  the  monument  of  Countess  Schulenburg. 
Grand-duke  Nicholas,  bust. 
Minerva  —  teaching,  ~| 

fighting,    >•  reliefs. 

arming,     ) 


LIST    OF    WORKS  323 

1822.  Agnes  Rauch,  bust. 

Count  of  Brandenburg,  bust. 
Arms  of  Bliicher,  relief. 
Sleeping  Lion,  relief. 

1823.  One  sketch  for  Goethe  statue,  standing. 
Bliicher  for  Berlin. 

Princess  of  Cumberland. 

Victory. 

Alexander  von  Humboldt,  bust. 

Dr.  Mundhenck,  bust. 

Crown-Prince  Friedrich  Wilhelm  of  Prussia,  first  model,  bust. 

1824.  Companion  to  antique  Danaid. 

Genius  for  Paris  on  the  Kreuzberg  monument. 
Wieland,  bust. 

Elizabeth,  Crown- Princess  of  Prussia,  bust. 
Resting  Stag,  first  model. 

1825.  Genius  for  Belle  Alliance  for  Kreuzberg. 
Professor  Friedrich  Tieck,  bust. 
Professor  Zelter,  bust. 

1826.  Striding  Apollo. 

Max  Joseph,  King  of  Bavaria,  bust. 
Bliicher  monument  in  Berlin,  decorative. 
Reliefs  on  Bliicher  monument. 
Friedrich  Wilhelm  III.  of  Prussia. 

1827.  Hero       ] 

Leander  >•  for  the  Elector  of  Hesse. 

Psyche     J 

Francke  monument  in  Halle. 

Friedrich  Wilhelm  I.  in  Gumbinnen. 

Prince  Wilhelm  of  Prussia,  first  model,  bust. 

Stags. 

1828.  Funeral  statue  of  Princess  of  Darmstadt. 
Goethe  in  the  House-gown. 

Rauch's  own  portrait,  bust: 
Design  for  medal  to  Humboldt,  relief. 
Design  for  medal  to  Emperor  Nicholas,  relief. 
Design  of  a  pedestal  for  Diirer  monument,  jrelief. 
Font  for  the  cathedral  at  Berlin,  relief. 
Felicitas  Publica  for  the  Max  Joseph  monument. 

1829.  Sketch  for  a  Lion-tamer. 

Nicholas,  Emperor  of  Russia,  remodelled  bust. 
Max  Joseph,  sitting  portrait  for  Munich. 
Schleiermacher,  bust. 
Frederic  II.  for  Aix,  bust. 
Monument  for  Frau  Cooper,  relief. 


324  LIST    OF    WORKS 

1829.  Bavaria  for  Max  Joseph  monument,  relief. 
Pedestal  to  Goethe  statuette,  relief. 

1830.  Praying  Maiden. 

Prince  Henry  of  Prussia,  bust. 
Count  Diebitsch-Sabalkanski,  bust. 
Design  for  the  medal  to  vaccination,  relief. 
Striding  Lion,  decorative. 

1831.  Sketch  of  Narcissus. 
Gable-field  of  Walhalla. 
Reliefs  of  Max  Joseph  monument. 

1832.  Maiden  Lorenz  von  Tangermiinde. 
Sitting  Victory,  holding  a  wreath. 
Son  of  Prince  Demidoff,  bust. 
Count  Voss,  bust. 

Dr.  Olfers,  bust. 
General  von  Schack,  bust. 

1833.  Expectation  as  Eurydice,  sketch. 
Stepping  Victory. 

Second  stepping  Victory. 

Dr.  Hufeland,  bust. 

George,  Grand  Duke  of  Mechlenburg-Strelitz,  bust. 

Duke  and  Duchess  of  Cambridge. 

1834.  Design  for  a  medal  for  Hufeland,  relief. 
Bacchic  scene,  relief. 

Religion,  art,  science,  for  Max  Joseph  monument,  relief. 
Medal  to  Hufeland. 

1835.  Boy  with  the  cup.     (Liebe.) 
Boy  with  the  book.     (Faith.) 
Fraiilein  Engel  as  Flora,  bust. 

For  the  Max  Joseph  monument,  giving  the  constitution,  relief. 

1836.  Danaid. 

Profile  portrait  of  architect  Strack,  relief. 

Profile  portrait  of  the    grandchildren  of   Rauch,  —  Eugenie,    Marie, 
Bertha,  Guido  d'Alton. 

1837.  Albert  Diirer  for  Nuremberg. 
Minister  Count  von  Bernstoff,  bust. 
Profile  portrait  of  Bendemann. 

1838.  Group  of  Polish  kings. 
Gneisenau  for  Sommerschenburg. 
Sitting  Victory  throwing  a  wreath. 
Profile  portrait  of  Agnes  d'Alton,  relief. 

1839.  First  Victory  for  Charlottenburg. 
Second  Victory  for  Charlottenburg. 
State's  Minister  of  Ladenberg,  bust. 


LIST    OF    WORKS  325 

1839.  Monument  of  Niebuhrin  Bonn,  relief. 

Profile  portrait  of  Friedrich  Wilhelm  III.,  relief. 

1840.  Victory  for  the  Belle  Alliance  Platz  in  Berlin. 
Prince  Frederic  of   Prussia,  bust. 

Profile  portrait  of   Baron  von  Clodt,  relief. 
Life-sized  Eagle  with  the  Lightning. 

1841.  Victory  crowning  Herself. 
Victory  mourning. 

Horse  for  the  Frederic  monument. 
Frederic  II.,  bust. 

1842.  Equestrian  figure,  Frederic  II. 
Funeral  statue,  Friedrich  Wilhelm  III. 
King  William  of  the  Netherlands,  bust. 

1843.  Funeral  statue  of  Queen  Frederika  of  Denmark. 
Baron  von  Clodt,  bust. 

Victory  of  Penthelicon,  marble  bust. 

1844.  Monument  for  Memel  and  Oels. 
Corner  figure  for  Frederic  monument. 
Eagle  for  the  Minister  of  Finance  in  Berlin. 

1845.  Minister  of  State  Von  Rother,  bust. 
Therese  von  Billow,  bust. 

1846.  Paul  Friedrich,  Grand  Duke  of  Mecklenburg-Schwerin. 
Beuth,  Councillor  of  Finance,  bust. 

Mercury,  bust. 

Profile  portrait  of  Eduard  d'Alton,  relief. 

1847.  Pillar  with  Apotheosis  of  Frederic,  sketch. 
Monument  of  Frederic. 

1848.  Hope,  undraped. 
Hope,  draped. 

1849.  One  and  two  sketches  for  Goethe  and  Schiller  group. 
Eugenie  d'Alton,  bust. 

Profile  likeness  of  George  Franks. 
Reliefs  on  Frederic  monument. 

1850.  Reliefs  on  Frederic  monument. 

1851.  Alexander  von  Humboldt,  bust. 

1852.  Count  York  of  Wartenburg. 
Funeral  statue  of  Ernst. 
August  of  Hannover. 

Designs  for  the  pedestal  of  the  Thaer  statue. 

1853.  Gneisenau  for  Berlin. 
Gneisenau's  Arms,  relief. 

Head  of  Christ  for  monument  of  Boisseree,  relief. 
Eagle  for  sarcophagus. 

1854.  Victory  with  tablet  for  Gneisenau  relief,  statue. 
Victory  with  tablet  for  York  relief,  statue. 


326  LIST    OF    WORKS 

1854.  York  Arms,  relief. 

1855.  Hope. 

Kant  (statuette). 
Sulpice  Boisseree,  bust. 

1856.  Equestrian  statue,  Frederic,  sketch. 
Wilhelm  III.,  with  pedestal. 
Moses  group. 

Emperor  Nicholas  sleeping,  third  model,  bust. 

Design  of  a  Victory  on  the  battle-field  at  Roubach,  relief. 

1857.  Thaer  for  Berlin. 
Bust  of  Victory,  bust. 
Eagle  in  the  laurel  wreath. 


INDEX 


A. 

Ache,  182. 

jEschylus,  195. 

Afinger,  306. 

Agier,  Fraulein,  30. 

Aix,  191. 

Albano,  17. 

Albert,  Prince,  285. 

Albrecht,  Markgraf,  54. 

Alexander,  Emperor  of  Russia,  7,  79,  80, 

95,  146.  « 

Alexandra,  Empress,  139. 
Altenstein,  113,  118. 
America,  217. 
Ancillon,  207. 
Andersen,  282. 
Angelo,  Michael,  126. 
Antwerp,  284. 
Ariadne,  n,  12. 
Arnim,  von,  Achim,  125. 
Arnim,  von,  Bettina,  31,  126,  127, 133. 
Arolsen,  i,  122,  230,  263. 
Austria,  143. 

B. 

Baba,  89. 

Barclay's  Brewery,  285. 
Bartolini,  24,  292. 
Bartolommeo,  Era,  178. 
Basel,  288. 

Baudin,  Madame,  239. 
Bavaria,  187. 
Begas,  96. 
Begas,  Karl,  236. 
Belgium,  233,  284. 
Belle  Alliance  Platz,  248. 
Benassi,  66. 
Benevento,  180. 
Berger,  206. 
Berghes,  106,  107,  170. 
Berlin,  112,  130,  137-153,  164,  182,  233. 
Bernstoff,  von,  194,  211. 
Berri,  Duke,  95. 
Bethmann,  von,  123. 128. 
Beuth,  166. 

Bianconi,  Domenico,  121.  172. 
Binder,  161. 
Blaser,  148. 

Bliicher,  von,  26,  46,  77,  88,  92,  142,  144, 
163,  183. 


Boissere'e,  81,  112,  116, 123,  124,  127, 128, 

165,  181,  295. 

Boleslaw,  King  of  Poland,  146,  150. 
Bologna,  66,  181. 
Borowsky,  Bishop,  45. 
Boston,  289. 
Bourdeaux,  12. 
Boz  (Dickens),  195. 
Brandenberg,  Countess  of,  22,  88. 
Brandt,  129-131. 
Braunschweig,  99. 
Brenner  Pass,  181. 
Brentano,  123. 

Breslau,  88,  92,  123,  137,  141,  145,  169. 
Bruges,  284. 

Briihl,  von,  General  Intendant,  114. 
Brunn,  Frederika,  123. 
Brunswick,  Duke  of,  43. 
Buchhorn,  206. 
Btickhardt,  285. 
Biilovv,  von,  137,  140. 
Bunsen,  Chr.  Karl  Josias,  113,   119,253, 

285. 

Bunsen,  von,  George,  286. 
Burger,  195. 
Burgfreiung,  151. 
Burgschmiedt,  153,  161,  162. 
Burgsdorf,  77. 
Bussler,  25. 
Buti,  Erau,  102,  103,  179. 


C. 

Camuccini,  85. 

Canova,  5,  25,  62,  63-68,  165. 

Carlsbad,  94,  123. 

Carrara,   23,   66-68,    78, 83,   88-93,    IOS> 

147,  163,  178,  289. 
Carstens,  15. 
Cams,  Dr.,  301. 
Caspar,  207. 
Cassas,  167. 
Cassel,  i,  229. 
Ceccardo,  89,  95,  105,  121. 
Cechino  (Solan),  89. 
Cellini,  Benvenuto,  182,  184,  185. 
Chantrey,  285. 
Charlotte,  Princess,  87. 
Charlottenburg,  9,  20,  21,  69,  112. 


327 


INDEX 


Cherbourg,  69. 
Chinard,  12. 
Chodowiecki,  252. 
Clodt,  Baron  von,  276. 
Colantonio  del  Fiore,  180. 
Cologne,  112,  133,  283. 
Constantinople,  91. 
Cooper,  Sir  Edward,  224. 
Copenhagen,  103,  281. 
Corcoran,  217,  218. 
Cornelius,  84,  85,  171,  174,  235. 
Correggio,  14. 
Cortot,  1 66. 
Cotta,  131,  206. 
Crawford,  289. 
Custrin,  44. 

D. 

D'Agincourt,  16. 
Daguerre,  96. 

D'Alton,  176,  177,  188,278. 
D'Alton,  Eugenie,  Guide,  Marie,  Bertha, 

188,  281. 

D'Angiers,  David,  166,  238,  239. 
Dannecker,  n,  83,  128,  165,  166. 
Dantzic,  39. 
Darmstadt,  29. 
David,  15,  167,  235. 
Delacroix,  235. 
Delos,  113. 
Denmark,  103. 
De  Stael,  Madame,  16. 
Devaranne,  227. 
Devrient,  Schroder,  301. 
Dewitz,  193,  194. 
Doria,  Andrea,  13. 
Drake,  105,  173,  174,  210. 
Dresden,  7,  9,  n. 
Duccio,  181. 
Duchesnois,  166. 
Duhan,  257. 
Dumas,  234. 
Dupr£,  167,  291,  292. 
Diirer,  85,  96,  150-162. 
Diisseldorf,  89,  192,  275. 
Duvenet,  167. 

E. 

Eichens,  168,  207. 

Eilert,  Bishop,  33. 

Eisenach,  n. 

Eliza  (privateer),  69. 

Elizabeth,  Princess  of  Bavaria,  219. 

Engelhardt,  191. 

Estner,  245. 

F. 

Facius,  Demoiselle,  130. 

Fernow,  15. 

Fischer,  205. 

Flechtdorf.Marhof  Niggemannat(  widow), 

98. 

Florence,  23,  66,  83,  178. 
Fohr,  Karl,  86. 
Fougu6,  von,  Caroline,  213. 
France,  12,  94,  144,  196,  234. 


Franceschino,  89,  90,  120. 

Franchi,  Franco,  290. 

Francke,  August  Hermann,  218. 

Frankfort,  u,  30^123,  127-133. 

Franz,  Emperor  of  Austria,  143. 

Fraunhofer,  175. 

Frederic  Augustus  II.,  183. 

Frederic,  Augustus,  King  of  Saxony,  173, 

182. 

Frederic  II.,  Elector,  82. 
Frederic,  Emperor,  60. 
Frederic  II.,  the  Great,  6,  48,  183,  251. 
Frederic  William,  Elector,  29. 
Frederic  William  I.,  145. 
Frederika,  Princess,  52. 
Frey,  Reverend  Andreas,  30. 
Friebel,  258. 

Friedrich  Wilhelm  II.  of  Prussia,  6,  252. 
Friedrich  Wilhelm  III.,  6,  20,  41,  75,  88, 

252,  270. 

Friedrich  Wilhelm  IV.,  36,  58. 
Friedrich  I.,  69. 
Friedrich  II.,  von  Hesse,  5. 
Fuller,  Margaret,  76. 


G. 

Gaetano  (Sanguinetti),  83,  89. 

Gall,  124. 

Gallait,  284. 

Gartner,  160. 

Gastein,  173,  181. 

Gelieux,  30. 

Genoa,  13,  14,  178. 

Gentz,  43. 

Gerard,  167. 

Ge'ricault,  235. 

Germany,  25,  137,  234. 

Gerstacker  &  Schenk,  207. 

Giacomino,  289. 

Gibson,  289. 

Giuseppe,  83,  89. 

Giustiniani  Gallery,  112,  116. 

Glatz,  282. 

Gneisenau,  von,  52,  142,  210. 

Goethe,  Frau  Rath,  30,  31,  195. 

Goethe,  Johann  Wolfgang,  30,  34,  96,  97, 

122-136,  171,  181,  267. 
Gorzenski,  Bishop,  147. 
Grahl,  von,  117. 
Greece,  95,  113. 
Gropius,  169,  208. 
Grossbeeren,  25. 
Guebhardt  &  Co.,  68. 
Gumbinnen,  144,  216. 
Gutenberg,  156. 

H. 

Halle,  161,  188,  189,  278. 
Haller,  184,  185. 
Hamburg,  68,  87. 
Hannover,  30. 
Hardenberg,  47,  98. 
Hasenclever,  236. 
Haugwitz,  42. 


INDEX 


329 


Hegel,  16. 

Heidelberg,  112. 

Heideloff,  154,  162. 

Helmsdorf,  166. 

Helsen,  4. 

Henry,  Prince  of  Russia,  181. 

Herberg,  261. 

Herder,  39. 

Heringsdorf,  278. 

Herrenhausen,  2. 

Hess,  Peter  177. 

Hesse  Darmstadt,Princess  Fredericka,  28. 

Hesse  Darmstadt,  Princess  Charlotte,  29. 

Hietzing,  155. 

Hildebrandt,  Johannes  Mason,  98. 

Hildesheini,  99. 

Hirt,  6,  117. 

Hittorf,  166,  167. 

Hofer,  Andreas,  54. 

Hohenthal,  von,  Count,  228. 

Hohenzieritz,  193. 

Holland,  233. 

Hopfgarten,  152,  183,  184. 

Hosmer,  Miss,  210. 

Houdon,  166. 

Hufeland,  22,  43. 

Hugo,  Victor,  234. 

Humboldt,  Adelhied,  24. 

Humboldt,  Caroline,  200. 

Humboldt,  Theodore,  18. 

Humboldt,  von,  Alexander,  16,    17,   73, 

166-168,  196-199,  217,  295,  303. 
Humboldt,  von,  Frau,  16,  17,  19,  94,  115, 

123-125,  199. 
Humboldt,  von,  \Vilhelm,  16,  19,  62-64, 

73>  94,  96>  "5-I2o,   144,  I?',  178, 

1 80,  181,  197-200,  266. 
Huyot,  167. 

I. 

Immermann,  195. 
Ingenheim,  Count,  116,  117,  118. 
Ingres,  167,  240. 
Innspruck,  172,  178. 
Italy,  8,  78,  178,  180,288. 


Jagemann, 
Jena,  123. 
Jersey,  68. 


J- 


K. 


Kalide,  203. 

Kant,  15,  294. 

Kastner,  184. 

Kaulbach,  von,  Wilhelm,  186,  275. 

Kaulbach,  von,  Frau,  293. 

Kiss,  203. 

Kleist,  von,  General  43. 

Klenze,  161,  164,  168,  171-176,  184,  243- 

245- 

Knobelsdorf,  69. 
Koch,  84. 
Kohlrausch,  22,  90-99. 


Konigsberg,  45,  52,  294. 

Kopisch,  261. 

Korner,  Theodor,  144,  195. 

Kotzebue,  94. 

Kraut,  82. 

Kreuzberg,  137 

Kugler,  1 6,  149,  196,  231. 


Langhans,  92. 

Lante,  116. 

Lante,  Princess,  117. 

Lauchhammer,  149,  150. 

Laura,  Signora,  290. 

Lazzarini,  121. 

Leghorn,  68. 

Leguire,  152. 

Leipzig,  25. 

Lemaire,  240. 

Lenox,  249. 

Leo  XII..  95. 

Leonardo  da  Vinci,  14,  2&8. 

Leopold,  Emperor,  II.,  30. 

Lequine,  183. 

Lessing,  painter,  288. 

Lessing,  poet,  15,  192. 

Leuchtenberg,  Duchess  of,  277. 

Leuthen,  248. 

Levezow,  114. 

Lewes,  123. 

Lieberkiihn,  Fraiilein,  191. 

London.  113,  142,  285,  286. 

Longhi,  178. 

Louis,  Prince,  37. 

Louise,  Queen,  i,  28-61,  chap.  iii. 

Louise,  statues  of,  62-76. 

Louise  of  Orange,  29. 

Lucca,  83-178. 

Lucerne,  288. 

Liideritz,  168,  206. 

Ludwig  of  Bavaria,  22,  23,  24,  97,  135, 

151-162,  163-187,  172-175,  243. 
Ludwigsburg,  u. 
Luisenstift,  99. 
Lund,  21,  97,  103,  123,  188 
Lyons,  12. 


Magdeburg,  44-50,  210. 

Mainz,  9,  10,  n,  34.  133. 

Maltzahn,  Hofmarschall,  71,  72. 

Maltzahn,  Frau  Hofmarschall,  So. 

Mandel,  168. 

Mannheim,  10. 

Mantegna,  86. 

Marseilles,  13. 

Max,  Joseph,  157,  164. 

Mechfenburg,  145. 

Mechlenburg-Strelitz,  von,  Karl,  28. 

Mechlenburg-Strelitz,    George,    29,    73, 

114,  192,225,249. 
Medem,  297. 
Meleager,  179. 
Memel,  44-51. 


330 


INDEX 


Mendelssohn,  152,  195. 
Mengeringhausen,  98. 
Metternich,  Prince,  155. 
Meyer,  129. 
Meyerbeer,  261. 

Mieczyslaw,  Duke  of  Poland,  146. 
Milan,  14,  178,  289. 
Mitsching,  269. 
Mb'llendorf,  General,  251. 
Moller,  219,  220. 
Moltke,  53. 
Mundhenck,  98,  191. 
Munich,  22,  65,  68,   155,   163,  168,  169, 
171-179,  182, 187,  292. 

N. 

Naples,  1 8,  86,  179. 
Napoleon,  23,  38,  41-51,  62,  77,  78,  143, 

148. 

Nelson,  276. 
Nemeyer,  218. 
Nicholas,   Emperor   of  Russia,   39,  95, 

139- 

Nienburg,  254. 
Mimes,  12. 
Nuremberg,  73,  151-162,  169,  182. 

O. 

Ohmacht,  166. 
Oken,  175. 
Olfers,  von,  305. 
Orleans,  Duke  of,  233,  269. 
Ostermann,  79. 

Otto  I.,  German  Emperor,  146. 
Otto,  King  of  Greece,  177,  194. 
Overbeck,  Franz,  84,  85. 
Ovid,  195. 
Oxford,  285. 

P. 

Padua,  86. 
Paestum,  180. 
Paretz,  40. 

Paris,  113,  143,  144,  164,  165,  182. 
Parma,  14,  167,  181. 
Pasquale,  185. 
Pestalozzi,  54. 
Peter  the  Great,  266. 
Petersburg,  St.,  53,  266,  275. 
Pflug,  183. 
Pignatelli,  26. 
Pisa,  83. 

Pisano  Niccolo,  181. 
Pius  VII.,  95. 
Pius  IX.,  290. 
Plainer,  161,  162. 
Poland,  145-150,  216. 
Pompeii,  179. 
Pontremoli,  27. 
Portsmoutn,  286. 
Posch,  Herr,  130. 
Posen,  7,  146-150. 
Potsdam,  5,  34,  73,  112,  168,  227. 
Powers,  Hiram,  291. 
Prieborn,  92,  93. 
Priessnitz,  228. 


Prussia,  7,  42,  187,  273. 
Pyrmont,  6,  42,  98,  99,  133. 


R. 

Raczynski,  Count  Edward,  148-150. 

Radziwill,  Prince,  147-150,  195. 

Rainers,  106. 

Rambach,  6. 

Raphael,  170. 

Rauch,  Agnes,  72,  98,  99,  120,  132,  161, 

185,  188,  301. 

Rauch,  Doris,  too,  161,  190,  279,  302. 
Rauch,  Friedrich,  2,  3,  5. 
Rauch,  Johann  Christian,  i. 
Rauch,  Johann  Friedrich,  i. 
Regensburg,  242. 
Keichenbach,  229. 
Reimer,  133. 
Reindel,  159,  160,  223. 
Rennenkampf,  von,  194. 
Rhine,  10. 
Richomme,  167. 
Richter,  Jean  Paul,  32. 
Rietschel,   87,    105-107,    134,   148,    149, 

155,  157,  170-182,  204,  244. 
Rietz,  5. 

Righetti,  184,  185. 
Ritter,  126. 
Robert,  Leopold,  102. 
Robertson,  Madame,  277. 
Rome,  4,  8,  9,  n,  15,  179. 
Rostock,  145. 
Rothe,  92. 
Ruhl,  4,  102,  122. 
Ruhl,  Julius,  102. 
Ruhl,  Ludwig,  102. 
Rumohr,  15. 
Ruscheweyh,  119. 


S. 

Sabalkanski,  Marshal  Diebitsch,  233. 
Sachs,  Hans,  22. 
Salerno,  180. 
Salzburg,  216. 
Salvetti  &  Co.,  66. 
Sand,  94. 

Sand,  George,  234. 
Sandretzky,  9. 
Sanguinetti,  170. 
Sans-Souci,  5. 
Sanzio,  Giovanni,  116. 
Schadow,  Felix,  284. 
Schadow,  Gottfried;  6,  8,  15,  36,  37,  62, 

64,  65>  73-77,  97,  103,  108-110,  117, 

139,  183,  196,  238. 
Schadow,  Rudolf,  20,  22,  24,  65,  67,  88- 

102,  117,  123. 

Schadow,  von,  Wilhelm,  235. 
Scharnhorst,  53,  87. 
Scheffner,  45. 
Schelling,  175. 
Schelling,  von,  23. 
Schepeler,  191. 


INDEX 


331 


Schilden,  von,  Baron,  7,  8. 

Schiller,  15,  29,  156. 

Schinkel,  70,  81,  87,  96-98,  103,  112,  197, 

221,  222-253. 
Schlegel,  von,  16. 
Schleiermacher,  213,  214,  284. 
Schliiter,  69. 
Schmidt,  von,  174. 

Schnorr,  von,  Carolsfeld,  85.  208,  236. 
Schonbrunn,  155. 
Schrodter,  236. 
Schubert,  175. 
Schuhmacher,  230. 
Schutz,  82. 
Schwalbach,  9,  10. 

Schwanthaler,  97,  134,  186,  202,  240. 
Schwarzenberg,  163. 
Schweldt,  43. 

Schwerin,  Princess  of  Mechlenburg,  41. 
Scott,  Walter,  49. 
Sebald  Church,  159. 
Seidler,  Louise,  129. 
Shakspeare,  195. 
Siena,  181. 
Sigismund,  28. 
Silesia,  7,  88. 
Snyders,  22. 
Soest,  133. 

Solario,  Antdnio,  180. 
Solly,  116. 
Sophocles,  195. 
Soult,  Marshal,  167. 
Speier,  262,  263. 
Spezzia,  178. 
Spree,  257. 
Stagemann,  211. 
Stein,   von,   31,   37,  50-53,  88,  92,  123, 

141. 

Stieglitz,  Charlotte,  235. 
Stieglmaier,  153,  165,  176,  184,  185. 
Stockholm,  21. 

Straber,  von,  Court  Bishop,  174. 
Strack,  188,  249. 
Strasburg,  30,  166. 
Strelitz,  55,  226. 
Stuart  and  Revett,  93. 
Stuttgart,  165. 
Stutzel,  75. 
Sue,  Eugene,  234. 
Switzerland,  12. 

T. 

Talleyrand,  48. 
Talma,  166. 
Tatarkiewicz.  147. 
Taubert,  304. 
Tauentzein,  Countess,  47. 
Tausing,  154. 
Tegel,  16,  197. 
Tegernsee,  171. 
Tenerani,  289. 
Teresina,  90. 
Tevi,  89. 
Thackeray,  133. 
Thaer,  294. 


Thaeter,  207. 

Theer,  155. 

Thorwaldsen,  17,  19,  23,  62-84,  102-110, 

J33.  H7,  156,  172,  179,  202,  284. 
Tieck,  Ludwig,  24,  92. 
Tieck,  sculptor,  16,  66,  67,  70,  78,  93, 98, 

107,  130,  163,  173,  198,  221. 
Tilsit,  46. 
Tolken,  304. 
Toschi,  167,  168,  181. 
Trajan,  180. 
Trautschold,  177. 
Tripple,  112. 
Tromp,  22. 

U. 

Ulm,  167. 
Unger,  William,  209. 

V. 

Valentin,  4. 
Van  Dyck,  22. 
Vatican,  81. 
Vaux,  286. 
Veit,  Philip,  85,  235. 
Vendee,  La,  86,  137. 
Venice,  86. 
Vernet,  Horace,  167. 
Versailles,  167. 
Victoria,  Queen,  285. 
Vienna,  19,  22,  54,  68,  134,  155. 
Vischer,  Peter,  99,  100,  221. 
Voss,  Count,  211. 
Voss,  von,  Oberhofmeisterinn,  34. 


W. 

Waagen,  117,  138. 

Wach,  83,  96,  103,  114,  190. 

Waga,  Anton,  143. 

Wagner,  220. 

Walhalla,  97,  154,  164. 

Warsaw,  7,  39. 

Waterloo,  78. 

Weber,  von,  Lieut.-General,  303. 

Weimar,  127,  135,  171. 

\Veimar,  Grand  Duke,  135. 

Welcher,  17,  300. 

Wellington,  Duke  of,  141,  213,  285. 

Werner,  Zacharias,  18.  24. 

Wessenburgh,  113. 

West,  Benjamin,  4. 

Westmacott,  224. 

Wichmann,  73,  126,  127,  163. 

Wiesbaden,  9,  133. 

William,  Emperor,  58. 

Winckelmann,  15. 

Wittenberg,  183. 

Wittig,  289. 

Wolff,  Emil,  103,  105,  117,  119,  148,  157, 

192,  193,  204. 
Wolicki,  Abbot,  147,  150. 
Wrangel,  273. 

Wrede,  Field  Marshal,  Prince,  177. 
Wredow,  203. 


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